On the road at last - MAPP at UEL

After 33 years outside the formal education system, I stepped back in again last Friday with the first weekend of my two-year part-time MSc in Applied Positive Psychology.

Impressions as they come ....

An extraordinary range of nationalities on the course - I counted 18: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Greece, India, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Korea, Lithuania,Taiwan, Thailand, Spain, Sweden, UK, USA - with Brits of Welsh, Bangladeshi and Punjabi origin.

Meeting somebody on the course who lives just a mile from me in Bradford-on-Avon.

The vim, vigour and passion of Dr Kate Hefferon.

Three excellent graduands who shared some of their insights to help us on their way - Vera, Chris and Darren.

A fascinating talk on stress by Professor Angela Clow from the University of Westminster.

A very handy stats and research primer from Dr Joan Painter.

A spectacular late entrance to a lecture by Hanna with Victor and Manus in tow.

The surprising and welcome discovery that PP is interested in moral considerations.

Great chats with Ed, Mega, Dave, Denis, Hanna, Ruo Lin, Lindsay and Francesca, to name but a few.

Now down to the reading.

The limits of empathy and responsibility for others

I've been doing a lot of reading and investigation in preparation for my (fingers crossed) MSc course at UEL starting September - reflecting on a number of topics such as the common good and moral reasoning.

Here's one that bugs me: What is my circle of empathy, and how does this overlap with my circle of responsibility?

As a bloke who aspires to be a mature adult, I take responsibility for myself of course - my actions, my health, the things I say and write etc. I take responsibility for my family, to ensure they are provided for and feel loved and encouraged but not overindulged. I take responsibility for the fact that I'll screw up with the family and sometimes it will because I do the wrong thing even knowing deep down it's wrong (e.g. being sarcastic).

I'm a bit responsible for my street and for the various groups I belong to, and for doing a good job for my clients and for paying my taxes and all that.

And I have empathy - I feel for - all sorts of random people, such as the Nurse Practitioner who watched over me and chatted with me after my day surgery yesterday. The circle of empathy reaches all over the place, and even back in time. It's unpredictable, which I guess is the nature of feelings.

However, when I go beyond people with whom I have some personal contact or mediated contact (e.g. songs, news articles etc.) I don't feel much empathy and very little real sense of responsibility.

In fact I read recently (can't find the reference) that with charities, people tend to donate more if the focus of the request for a donations is on one person rather than on two - that empathy and giving decrease when communication focuses on deserving groups or whole societies.

This maybe throws some light on my feeling of rebellion that I should feel or have any responsibility for every single person born. There are almost seven billion humans and another couple of hundred have been born since I started writing this.

How could I possibly pretend to have any responsibility for, and anything but the vaguest passing empathy, with such huge numbers of people?

Get physical, get rhythmic

As part of my route towards the PhD I'm applying to do an MSC in Applied Positive Psychology - not about positive thinking per se, but rather an approach to pscyhology that's not based on the disease model. Within that, what I want to focus on is the role of time-critical activities in fostering health and well-being.

It's my belief and experience that "being in your head" alone is an unhealthy and unhappy place. To live well, in the broadest sense of the words, we need to use as much of our body as circumstances allow, and to engage regularly in activities that require coordination and timing. For people of limited mobility this might be as simple as tapping hands or pencils to the rhythm of a piece of music or poetry - rhythmic movements (who's chortling back there?) are very important, so dancing, walking, cycling, running, swimming are all recommended.

For people with intellectual strengths there's an additional pay-off. Engaging in the sort of activities I mention is a pleasure in itself and I'm sure trips cascades of beneficial effects at every level, from the cellular, neurological and biochemical all the way up to the emotional, psychological and spiritual.

It also provides a lot of food for thought and reflection.  What's not to like?