Thick Skin Equals Empathy And Forgiveness
Thick Skin Equals Empathy And Forgiveness
Do you have thick skin? Are you trying to have thick skin? Do you teach your kids to have thick skin? My middle boy has autism. It's no secret. Angel is loving, sweet and kind. At times his autism is met with teasing and mocking. It's the way it is. We take great care to make sure he deals with his life and what's happening around him. There was a time when I would say to him, “you have to have thick skin, stay strong, don't let the idiots get you down.” The only thing he was learning from me was harden your heart and keep your guard up when opposition hits your doorstep. Angel has a big heart. I could see him wonder what it would look like to defend himself against people who didn't have the capacity to simply love him. He would use oppositional language, language less than loving. Language not fitting for a sweet and loving boy. It didn't sound like him and didn't look like him. I was teaching him wrong. I was trying to protect him, keep him safe. Empathy teaches us to identify our similarities, our togetherness and perhaps create community around it. Love teaches it will protect us and we may trust in it. As I have watched Angel grow he has helped me see a “thick skin” is more about how we develop love and empathy in our hearts and community. Angel gravitates to the heart, not away from it and so do we. We must remember that. We often find Angel tending to the needs of older people, gathering a posse of kids together at the High school football game on Friday nights or regaling us with stories about the hundreds of kids he knows at school. Angel may be Autistic, he may be a bit socially awkward but he has a lesson for us… your “thick skin” is built on empathy and love.
Who could use your “thick skin?”
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