Welcome, friends!
I’m so glad you found your way here.
My name is Gwen, and I’m the founder of Tribeless. My team and I created The Empathy Box© in 2017, and since then, we’ve been on a mission to bring human connection back to our relationships and communities… starting with Empathy.
I often get asked about the story behind the Box, and why we believe so strongly in creating spaces for people to gather and connect today.
This is our story. :)
The Empathy Box© is a labor of love that began 7 (!) years ago, in the warm embrace of Tribeless Dinners.
These ‘stranger dinners’ were an attempt at filling a gap in my life – up to that point, I’d been too focused on my career, and in the wake of a personal mental health crisis, I began to crave the comforts of friendship and community.
Through hosting these dinner parties, I learned what it meant to be in community…
I learned to be vulnerable, to open up and share my experiences with honesty.
I learned how to open my heart to other people’s stories, and to embrace them with compassion and understanding.
More importantly, I learned how to practice empathy – to journey with others through their pain, instead of trying to fix or control it.
This served as the foundation for what would become The Empathy Box© – a tool for facilitating empathetic conversations, no matter how diverse the group was.
After 3 years of monthly events, the Covid pandemic hit, and we stopped hosting the public events… but the legacy of the Box lived on.
We started hearing stories of people using it with their teams, their coaching / therapy clients, their friends, even their families...
… and over time, we discovered the true power of The Empathy Box© – it helped us build the practice of empathy into our everyday relationships.
A particular story comes to mind when I think of this. It was July 2019, 1.5 years since I introduced the Box to my stoic, strong “Asian Tiger Mom”…
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After nearly a decade of fighting and estrangement, we were working hard on improving our relationship and would often go out to dinner, just the two of us.
At this particular dinner, I opened up about how I was feeling anxious about a big product launch Tribeless was doing at the time.
In the past, my mom would’ve jumped straight into problem-solving mode, ticking off a list of things I could do to improve my situation, and souring my mood.
This time, though, to my surprise – she just held space. She listened. And when I was done sharing, she shared:
“I remember a time when I was in your shoes. We’d just completed renovations on our restaurant, and we were nervous about the grand re-opening. Would people come? Would our efforts be wasted? I know it sounds silly now, because we ended up doing so well. But I remember feeling that way at the time.”
Tears flowed down my face, unbidden. I didn’t realize it until that moment, but that was the first time I’d ever received empathy from my mother. And it felt ... incredible. I felt completely seen, heard and understood.
Our relationship evolved by leaps and bounds that day – all because of that one conversation.
I want to clarify that this change didn’t happen overnight. The first time I introduced the Empathy Box to my mom, she was abrasive, curt – she barely shared more than a few words.
It took 1.5 years and several tries, nights spent sitting around the couch, Empathy Box cards in hand… before she warmed up to the idea of opening up that side of herself.
All of this is to say – if my strong, stoic Asian Mom can do it, so can you 🫶 I believe in you!
Like any skill, Empathy requires hard work & patience. But there is so much beauty to be unlocked when we put in the effort and time. 🌸
Whether you’re starting over in a new city, want to deepen your current family ties, or build a richer sense of community...
Whether you’re struggling to connect with your loved ones, and are looking for a way to start practicing empathy in your relationships...
Whether you’re a team leader or DEI organizer that cares about bringing people together, and believes that conversations are the best way to cultivate a real sense of belonging...
Whether you’re a counsellor, therapist or team coach who creates safe spaces for your clients, and wants to integrate group containers into your practice...
The Empathy Box© is for you.
Join us on our mission to create a world that Sees The Human First, one empathic conversation at a time. 💗
