There Is Nobody You Can’t Empathize With Once You’ve Heard Their Story

''In a world full of people who couldn't care less, be someone who couldn't care more.''

We all live our life through our own version of reality.
We see the world through our own lens.
Part of my life mission is to encourage human beings to refocus their attention from themselves to others, by trying to see the world through other’s people versions of reality.

Too often, do individuals get caught up with their own lives.
We’re so focused on our own selves, our own issues, that we forget that there are 7.6 billion of other humans on this planet, who just like us, try their best to survive in this tough world.
We really have no absolute idea of what goes on in other human’s internal reality.
That is why, it is crucial to pay attention to the way we treat others.

Maybe the guy who cut you off on the highway was rushing to go to the hospital see his wife.
Maybe your social worker was not at her usual best today because she’s experiencing grief in her personal life.
Maybe the lady who responded to you in a manner which you interpreted as rude, is devastated that her son relapsed after coming out of rehab.
The truth is, we don’t know what goes on beneath the surface of what we see.

Empathy has always been the number one quality I’ve looked for in people.
If you listen with an open heart, and you give your hand to someone, I promise that you will make a significant difference in that person’s life, even if you don’t see it yourself.
Teaching empathy to children should be one of the first lessons taught in schools.
Despite the fact that it is one of the most important human quality, it is also one which is too often absent in today’s world.
It goes without saying that many leaders would become extraordinary leaders if they chose to make great use of empathy.

Many issues stem from a lack of empathy.
We’d rather have the last word, than save our marriage.
We deeply want someone to listen to us, yet we are unable to do the same for someone else.
I am ashamed sometimes when a situation of injustice takes place in a public place, and no one reacts.
When people walk down the streets and look down upon homeless people.
We repeat the same old false narratives in our minds, of how we think these people are.
But really, who are we to judge?

Empathy opens the door for connection.
Every day, we greet people with the same old ''Hi! How are you? ''
But do we really care about the answer they give us?
Have someone ever said to you instead of the usual ''fine thank you'',
''I’m not doing well actually. '' ?
If it does, it catches us by surprise, because we are so not used to hear the real answer.
The common saying goes ''People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel''.
What are we waiting for to make others feel good?
To make them feel that they matter, because they do.
To make them feel that we care about and understand their viewpoint.

Most of us go through our day to day lives on autopilot.
When I take public transportation, I’m always stunned by the number of people who are stuck looking at their phones.
We think it helps to keep us connected to one another, when in fact, it makes us lose the real human connection we should develop with one another.
We live in the age of entitlement, and more often than we’d be willing to admit it, we engage in ways and behaviors that feed our egos.
Raising our children like they are the ''center of the universe'' and being the generation of ''everyone gets a trophy'' has backfired us.
The ''selfie'' era has failed to instill in us the importance of praising empathetic behaviors.
Not to mention that empathy, is hands down the number one attribute that determines the quality of the relationships we cultivate with other people.

You may know by now that I am an adept of meditation.
Loving kindness meditation is one form of meditation which I practice daily.
Researchers have found that from a regular practice of loving-kindness meditation, one can strengthen and activate the regions of the brain which are responsible for empathy and emotional intelligence.
''A recent review of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) concludes that Loving Kindness Meditation may be the most effective practice for increasing compassion (Boellinghaus, Jones & Hutton, 2012) ''
What are we waiting for!?
To give you more motivation, it has been demonstrated that even as little as one session of 10 minutes, can already start to make you benefit from increased empathy toward others.

'' May everyone be safe and free from harm.
May everyone be happy and free from stress.
May everyone be healthy and free from pain.
May everyone be able to live in this world peacefully and joyfully. ''

Some of us are more natural at being empathetic, but it does not mean that the ones who are less prone to use it, can’t change that.

I hope that each one of us can find the courage to devote our future to help others in any way we possibly can.

Or as I like to say, if you can’t find a kind person, become one ❕
💜 💫