“The thing about expressing an opinion is that other people might disagree with you. But no-one can disagree with an emotion.” Howard Hodgkin, artist (from memory of a biographical documentary, as I cannot find the exact quote anywhere …)
Tag Archives: empathy
Success
A television celebrity was being interviewed on the radio the other day and was asked if she felt ‘successful’. She thought about it for a moment, then related a short anecdote about an incident on the bus. A man had complained that her one-year-old daughter had kicked him. In response, the woman had stood upContinue reading “Success”
Warmth
We went to an introductory talk on my daughter’s school walking trip to Italy. Part of the presentation was by one of the women who would be leading the group; part was by one of the local, Italian guides. The woman was in charge. She had been doing this for many years and was clearContinue reading “Warmth”
Raining on someone else’s parade
There is a joke that Mexicans tell about themselves: An American businessman is on holiday in Mexico and, as he is walking along the beach, he passes a Mexican fisherman with his catch of crabs in an open bucket. “You should put a lid on that,” says the American, “or the crabs will climb out.”Continue reading “Raining on someone else’s parade”
Empathy and the estate agent
There was a documentary series some time ago about a firm of estate agents in North London. The early episodes focused much of their attention on one relatively new recruit. He was an earnest young man, who made a point of emphasising that he wanted to do his very best to match buyers to theirContinue reading “Empathy and the estate agent”
Control
When Tony got home from work, Julie was agitated and upset. Earlier that day she had taken their young daughter to a dentist appointment, which was a ten-minute walk away from the house. But she had arrived late. She told Tony that she had been late by a minute or so. The truth was sheContinue reading “Control”
