Empathy begins long before we have a word for it.

It lives in the infant who cries when another baby cries, as if some invisible thread were tugging at both hearts at once. It flickers in the toddler who offers a toy to someone who is sad, as if silently saying, “What you feel matters to me”. Kindness is embedded in us from the start. But like all living things, it can be either nurtured or neglected.

Left untended, it may recede under the pressures of fear, competition, or disconnection. Tended with care, it becomes something spacious and deliberate. The child who once simply felt with another begins to understand, to take perspective, to act with intention. Empathy is a capacity that unfolds, shaped by the relationships, models, and environments that surround us.

What begins as a spark becomes a way of meeting the world.

In response to this, a growing number of initiatives are exploring how to nurture empathy from the very beginning.

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The Growing Edge: How Empathy Begins

One of the most beautiful initiatives in this field is Roots of Empathy, founded by educator Mary Gordon. Its premise is disarmingly simple: over the course of a school year, a baby and their parent visit a classroom regularly, becoming the living curriculum through which children learn to recognize and respond to emotions. Instead of teaching empathy as an abstract value, the program invites children into a relationship. They watch the baby grow, notice subtle shifts in expression, and begin to wonder about what the baby might be feeling.

What makes this approach so powerful is that it bypasses moralizing altogether. There is no directive to “be kind,” only the invitation to notice, to feel, and to understand. Over time, children begin to see one another differently, recognizing that every reaction carries an inner world beneath it. Research has shown reductions in aggression and increases in prosocial behavior, but beyond outcomes, something deeper takes root: a way of seeing others as real, feeling beings. Irish philosopher Iris Murdoch once wrote: “Love is the extremely difficult realization that something other than oneself is real.” A baby may be just what is needed to bring this truth home.

The program is currently available in the United States, United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, and Norway.

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News You Can Use: Compassionate Societies Foster Care

What would it mean to say that a whole society is compassionate? A recent paper by A. C. Skwara, published in the International Journal of Wellbeing, suggests that compassion is not a fixed trait but a latent, emergent capacity that arises in response to suffering and is shaped by context. This makes it difficult to measure, especially at scale. Drawing on contemplative traditions, the paper points to interdependence and common humanity as essential foundations: we are deeply interconnected, and suffering is something we all share.

The key shift is one of perspective. Compassion does not belong only to individuals, but flows through relationships, institutions, and cultures. In that sense, a compassionate society is one that makes care more likely to arise. Perhaps most strikingly, the paper suggests that compassion can be transmissible: expressed through action, it ripples outward, shaping the emotional climate around us. The question becomes not only whether compassion is present, but how we help it spread.

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Insight & Inspiration: The Art of Living Fully
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In his stirring music video, "Why Wait," Brad Wolfe & the Moon offer a profound meditation on the urgency of being alive. Grounded in the wisdom of a 102-year-old Auschwitz survivor —who happens to be Brad's own grandmother— this piece reminds us that our time here is fleeting, and we can’t afford to delay the things that truly matter: love, connection, and the courage to feel. The film serves as the opening chapter of the Loss Music Pathway, a transformative initiative by our friends at Reimagine, an organization that Brad founded. This series uses the power of music to help us turn our deepest pain into a source of purpose, inviting us to view grief as a doorway to a more intentional and compassionate life.

We invite the GCC community to join this journey of healing and discovery at the next live event on May 21st. This session will focus on the release of the second film in the series, "Cover You in Flowers," exploring how ritual and care can transform our most painful goodbyes into lasting acts of devotion. Whether you are navigating your own loss or seeking to deepen your resilience, this gathering offers a sacred space for reflection and connection. ​Reserve your seat to be part of this moving experience.

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Let's Practice!

Once a day, pause with someone you encounter (a child, a partner, even a stranger), and silently ask yourself: “What might they be feeling right now?”

Let your attention rest there for a few moments, offering it with generosity.

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Save the Date! Young Guys Thrive

At a time when many young men are struggling with isolation, confusion, and a loss of meaningful connection, Young Guys Thrive brings a different kind of conversation into the light. This online gathering convenes leading psychologists, educators, and practitioners to explore what is often left unsaid: the emotional lives of boys and young men, and the conditions they need not just to succeed, but to truly flourish. Rather than reducing the issue to headlines or stereotypes, the event opens a deeper inquiry into identity, belonging, and the human need for connection that underlies it all.

Across four thoughtfully curated panels, the conversation moves from understanding to possibility. From the early roots of disconnection and the pull of the “manosphere,” to the transformative role of fathers and mentors, and the essential inner skills required for a changing world, Young Guys Thrive offers both insight and direction. What emerges is a vision of strength beyond stoicism or dominance: grounded, emotionally aware, and deeply relational. It is an invitation to reimagine what it means for young men to grow into themselves, and into a world that needs their presence, integrity, and care.

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Apply Now: Compassion Corps Deadline Extended!

We’ve extended the application deadline for the 2026 Compassion Corps cohort to April 30th.
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This initiative provides grants of $1,000 to $2,000 USD to certified teachers, enabling them to bring evidence-based programs like MSC, CCT, and MBSR to underserved communities worldwide at no cost. We believe compassion is a vital human capacity, not a luxury, and these grants help foster resilience and connection where they are needed most.
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​Who: Fully certified mindfulness and compassion teachers.
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New Deadline: April 30, 2026.
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Action: Learn more and apply here.
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Don't miss this opportunity to help cultivate care and strength in global communities!

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Have You Read It? Quiet Strength

In Quiet Strength, GCC Founding Supporter and Compassion Corps founder Margaret Cullen offers a timely and radical reframe of equanimity, not as detachment or emotional withdrawal, but as a steady, open presence in the midst of life’s complexity. Drawing from contemplative traditions and modern psychology, she invites us to reconsider the assumption that caring deeply requires being overwhelmed. Instead, she shows how inner balance can support a more sustainable, responsive form of engagement with the world.

What emerges is a vision of resilience that feels particularly relevant in times of collective strain. Equanimity, as Cullen presents it, allows us to stay connected without becoming flooded, to act without hardening, and to care without burning out. Far from diminishing our impact, this grounded presence becomes a form of service in itself, enabling wiser, more compassionate action. Quiet Strength ultimately offers not an escape from the world, but a way of inhabiting it with greater clarity, steadiness, and heart.

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A Question for You What happens inside you when someone is upset or reactive? Do you tighten, defend, withdraw, or try to correct? And what might become possible if, just for a moment, you chose to meet that intensity with curiosity instead of resistance?

If empathy can be nurtured, practiced, and even spread, then each of us plays a part in the conditions we create. In our homes, our conversations, and our communities, we are always, without realizing it, teaching one another how to be human.

With care,

Fabiana,
Editor, Coming Home

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