It’s Their First Time Living Too
Empathy is defined as “the ability to understand and share the feelings of others.” Empathy though, is so much more than this. I believe that it is a fundamental piece of what sets us aside from other mammals roaming this earth. It is what helps us make meaningful connection and relate ourselves to others.
Personally, I feel that gets forgotten in a lot of environments in today’s world. You find out someone has one differing opinion from you and it’s over. Not everything is that black and white though, and understanding their experiences and why they value that opinion is the first step to finding that gray area.
As the political state of our country becomes tenser, and we build more of a hostile environment involving policy and partisan values, I think that it is so important that we take empathy into account. Humans grow based on our experiences, and value different things based on that growth.
As someone who has a unique outlook on the world, I’ve had to learn through time to be empathetic, and sometimes look through a different set of lenses. Through this, I’ve made many different friends, and have seen so much beauty. I’ve learned to see people for their character, and not just their opinion, as our opinion is not what defines us.
At the end of the day, just remember to be aware. Recognize people’s experiences, and the fact that your lives up until this point may differ from theirs, and that is okay. Find the gray area—look for genuine character instead of jumping to conclusions based on their opinion. As my grandmother one once told me, “It’s their first time living too”.
