This first week in May of 2022 - May 2 to 8 - is designated Mental Health Week in our province of Ontario.
The focus is Empathy.


Take a few minutes and ask yourself why empathy plays a part in Mental Health Week.

Empathy is the action of understanding, being aware of and being sensitive to the experience of another.
As a human being, empathy is an important and essential character trait we must harness and ingrain into our very being at a very young age.

Health is defined as the state of being free from illness or injury; a person’s mental or physical condition.
Perhaps the purpose of designated week’s like this one is that attention is drawn to the concept of well being and the ability to restore soundness and strength.

As a designated sedentary even I must admit that physical and mental are joined. Just like the childhood song said… the ankle bones connected to the shin bone and the shin bones connected to the knee bone and so on…. each of us needs all of the body and mind to be communicating well with each other for the best outcome each and every day. Each of us deserves the ability to make the best choices for our personal physical and mental health....to navigate our own path to the best of our ability. Empathy doesn't block another's path with obstacles like imposed opinion, criticism, and judgment. 

“Sing like no one is listening and Dance like no one is watching”, we have all read or heard this statement.
Good advice for enjoying the moments that make up our own lifetime and embracing our individualism plus an excellent attitude to possess….but can you “dance like no one is watching”?
What holds you back?

Is it that you worry or wonder about those watching – whether they are frightened of you or you of them; whether they are kind hearted and fun loving or calculating, vindictive, cruel; whether they will judge you to be crazy, unreliable, under the influence, socially unacceptable?  Are you intimidated by real, imagined, or influenced thoughts of others?   Can a sensitive person survive scrutiny and ridicule? Can anyone cope with being ostracized?  Does someone else's possible judgment affect or put limitations on your conduct? Your happiness? On your well-being? Does it change the way you feel about your self? Does it alter your opinion of your abilities or even of their abilities?

What is your general state of mind when you move through your day? Are my own thoughts clear or cloudy; scattered or concise; open or judgmental; kind or cruel; serene or scary?

How do your opinions affect me?  How do my thought processes, opinions, and actions affect others? 

Empathy is an action that comes from a place of pureness.

Perhaps this week we should all reflect, research, and contemplate on the message of Mental Health 2022.