Who Said Empathy is Dead?

Life newsletter #11 featuring the month of May prompt collab with the writer, David Perlmutter

Empathy is far from dead.

You only have to look at the neighboring countries that are welcoming the Ukrainian refugees with open arms and all the volunteers toiling day and night to make life a little better for those suffering to realize that empathy is not dead.

On a personal note, I experienced it firsthand when I shared the story of how I am unable to travel to be with my mom who is scheduled for surgery because a certain person put a stop to it simply out of spite. In that post, I briefly mentioned rallying “Team Yana” to help make my mother’s hospital stay and recuperation as comfortable as possible and was blown away (and moved to tears) by the amazing show of support by my Medium family 🙏

No, empathy is certainly not dead.

(Lovely image by writer, poetess, and creative Monoreena Acharjee Majum)

As some of you know, I have recently begun leaning towards the arts to get me through stressful times — it certainly does wonders for the cortisol levels. And I thought a great way to introduce Life’s prompt collab for the month of May with no other than the one and only David Perlmutter!

So, without further ado, I hand it over to David.

🌸Life Month of May Prompt🌸

This prompt is about the arts.

Something that, when you break it down, is important to you, me, and everyone else in the world.

We all have particular movies, television programs, music, theatre events, concerts, and even paintings and sculptures that mean something to us. They help to define who we are as individuals, as cultures, and as nations. For good or for bad.

If someone mentions one of these things to me, even in passing, it always sparks memories of that thing, fond or otherwise, that bring them back clear as day. I don’t know if that’s just me or it’s something common to people on the autism spectrum, as I am, but that’s just how it goes.

Now, Coffee Times wants to know about your experiences with the arts.

What are the things about them that are pivotal to your life?

What are the aspects of them that help you tell aspects of your life story clearly, in ways you could not tell it otherwise? Send them in and share them with the world.

As a scholar and devotee of many types of art, I’ll be interested in reading what you come up with...

Please don’t forget to tag me, Yana Bostongirl, and David Perlmutter in your responses so we get a notification when you publish!

I would like to appreciate all who have taken the time to respond to Life’s prompts and I urge you to read these deeply personal stories the month of April prompt collab with Donnette Anglin and amazing photography and soothing words in response to B.R. Shenoy’s nature prompt:

Marilyn Glover https://readmedium.com/please-do-not-judge-me-harshly-i-used-to-be-an-exotic-dancer-ad9bf45b9577

Marilyn Flower https://readmedium.com/how-my-past-shapes-and-colors-but-does-not-define-who-i-am-now-6ad3bd36b4f

Sahil Patel https://readmedium.com/meet-to-the-brand-new-kind-of-me-6c9244a19bad

Jenine Bsharah Baines https://readmedium.com/dryad-drinking-a2a596d8846d

Sara Burdick https://readmedium.com/how-the-rains-bring-a-sense-of-rebirth-and-renewal-for-all-living-beings-dfe85c149b54

Juana Flor https://readmedium.com/nature-quiets-my-mind-and-shows-me-what-im-capable-of-64c0c2cc99f3

Victoria Gregg https://readmedium.com/natures-cathedral-c16979d79b2e

Mahein Kazi https://readmedium.com/the-healing-power-of-nature-2cf5841edcf8

Special shout out to Axcelle Sandra for Springtime in Sofia

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there ❤ I would like to share this wonderful read from Shameem Anwar in celebration of moms everywhere The Angel!

Heard about the Substack challenge CC6?

If not click on this for more deets:

Here are the new extensions on the deadlines:

Submission for the prompt response has been extended to May 15th.

Submission for the testimonials has been extended to May 25th.

Winners will be announced on May 30th.

🌸 Coffee Times Life on Substack’s featured story is I Snapped at Someone by EllenEastwood