Whatever Happened to Empathy?

The most natural human emotion is love. Second to that is anger. Empathy sits somewhere in between and is just as important as the top two. As Daniel H. Pink said, "Empathy is about standing in someone else's shoes, feeling with his or her heart, seeing with his or her eyes. Not only is empathy hard to outsource and automate, but it makes the world a better place."

What makes Empathy so important?

Everyone is struggling. Every minute, of every hour, of every day, people are battling their own demons, trying to figure out how to make it through the day. No matter how rich or poor, no matter how much family they do or don't have, no matter how good or bad their job is or how they decide to live their life. Everyone has something in their life that they struggle with. And it's not for anyone else to judge or have an opinion on. We as fellow humans simply have no right.

Many individuals keep their problems to themselves and carry on as normal. Is this because they have been judged in the past? Because they don't feel their problem would be considered real or important enough to other people? Some people do reach out and they know they need a support group around them to help them cope with what they're going through. Other's turn to help elsewhere, more dangerous things, such as drugs and alcohol. Each coping mechanism different but sufficient enough for being able to manage the stress.

One problem is, the more harmful the coping mechanism is perceived to be to that person, the less likely people want to understand and help them overcome it. Do they need class A drugs to cope with a difficult childhood they're trying to leave behind? Do they drink to excess every night to forget the loneliness? Do they throw themselves into exercise to stop the stress of their lives eating away at them?

Another problem is the easy someone's live appears to be, the less likely they are to get understanding or compassion from the people around them. Which can be just as toxic to their health.

And the worst of all? When a problem is viewed as insignificant or stupid from someone who isn't living through it and having to manage it on a daily basis. We don't have any empathy for people suffering anymore. We are blind to how much of a negative impact we can have on people's lives.

Whatever happened to empathy?

To putting yourself in someone's shoes and understanding what someone is going through before you make up your mind about them and their situation?

To forgiving a friend or a relative because you know they are going through a hard time and acting out in anger, or sadness, or frustration.

To not judging the grumpy old man over the road because you know since he lost his wife he lives a very lonely life.

To letting your teenage daughter breath instead of continuing to fight with her. You know she is going through what all teenagers go through and she needs room to figure it out.

Just Be a Little More Understanding

Whether it's an hour of your time, giving someone breathing space to think and take stock or taking them out to forget about the world and their problems, everyone needs somebody to leeeeeeean on... (sorry had to be done).

I'm a big believer in karma and it will come back in spades if you can just be more understanding and caring to those around you.

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