Even if you only meet them once.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, everyone. It is a glorious blue sky here in Manchester, the blossom is out and I’m wearing my green cardigan. I’ve decided it’s going to be a good day. ☘️

In some ways that’s thanks to the work of Dr James Doty, founder and director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education in Stanford University.

Dr Doty’s work taught me about the neuroscience behind mindfulness. He spoke about the power of kindness, compassion and the belief that we can all have impact on other people’s lives. Especially those who have had challenging beginnings.

Even if we only meet them for a short period, or even just once. Every interaction is an intervention.

how we treat visitors really matters…

When I talk about trauma-informed practice in museums and galleries I talk about the importance of creating welcoming spaces.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 – 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿, 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿, 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿, 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 – 𝘄𝗲 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆’𝗿𝗲 𝗢𝗞, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆’𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆’𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴.

Dr Doty famously had a similar intervention from a kind woman who worked at a magic shop in a mall. He was a child living in a troubled and chaotic home and this stranger’s kindness changed the path of his life.

No matter who you are or what you do, how you treat people matters. Even if you only meet them once. 𝗜𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿.

Dr James Doty sadly passed away this week but his work and legacy will live on in the neuroscience research field. 💚