Empathy for Me?

“I don’t know any who was brought up practicing self-empathy.”  That one sentence fascinates me.  It was yanked out of context from Parenting from Your Heart by Inbal Kashtan.  I think it stands alone, but here is the rest of the paragraph:

The novelty of self-empathy, combined with the effort it takes to make time for it, can make it seem like an impossible luxury.  Yet self-empathy can give us “breathing room” for facing life, much like a  meditation practice.  While it may not solve every problem, it may actually help us accept the time when we cannot find a “fix.” Through self-empathy, we can provide for ourselves some very powerful resources:  connection and nurturing for ourselves; focus on what matters most to us; access to creative problem-solving; space to grow and deepen our skills as parents; confidence that we will act more often ways that bring us joy and satisfaction; and the sweetest thing of all: trust and connection with our loved ones.

Kashtan is writing about raising children without power struggles using Marshall Rosenberg’s theory of Nonviolent Communication.  I’m just starting, so I’m not sure whether or not this will help me with my grandson.  But self-empathy sounds like a helpful idea.