A reminder that empathy isn’t a soft skill feels especially sharp this week: consumer confidence has fallen for a second month in October, and the RBA has been publicly emphasising caution as inflation proves sticky.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ clash with then-RBA governor Philip Lowe back in February about getting out of the bubble and seeing the real pain reads less like old gossip, and more like a live test of proximity in leadership.

Empathy doesn’t start evenly. Some kids are innately tuned in; others learn it because an adult models it and makes them practice.

Hardship can cut both ways; a taste of exclusion often widens the lens, whereas chronic stress or trauma can narrow it to survival. The difference is usually proximity, and a safe adult who names feelings and makes room for them

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