We believe the key to communication lies in empathizing with others and ourselves, which requires an understanding of the needs and feelings of others and ourselves. We have found that one can develop and enrich their ability to empathize by learning and practicing Compassionate Communication, a set of communication principles Dr. Marshall Rosenberg described simply and eloquently in his book Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life. Matching Pictures’ workshops weave Compassionate Communication with the principles we learned through 23 years of marriage, co-owning a project management and engineering firm, living on a sailboat, homeschooling our children, developing an urban homestead, and actively participating in our community.