Empathy: putting yourself in another's shoes, understanding someone else's feelings and perspectives as if they were your own. Such a simple concept, with such a huge impact. I believe that this isn't valued enough as it should be, certainly in today with all of the change occurring.
Take a second to really think about this for a moment. There are so many situations within our society (especially right now) that need these values. No matter if you're a feminist striving for gender equality and fairness, a civil rights activist supporting the Black Lives Matter movement or even something of a smaller level such as being in a fight with your best friend or trying new foods. If you can't stretch your mind past your own perspective, beliefs, experiences and emotions, you will be undoubtedly handicapped in life. How can you move forward in anything if you only see through your own eyes? Even if you're up against Donald Trump, who arguably doesn't even try to empathize with anyone other than himself, if you put yourself in his perspective, you can better argue with him at an even field and further rationalize the ethics of the situation instead of only considering your bias. I'm not saying you have to agree with everyone and everything. I'm saying you have to listen before you can make the best judgment.
Recommended for you
Perhaps I'm oversimplifying these huge social matters and conflicts, but I'd find it hard to believe that this concept would have no positive effect at all. And maybe I'm just an ignorant, silly 19-year-old who has a whole lot of hope for her generation and her society, but is that really so wrong? Aren't you tired of hearing what's wrong with us, rather than what we can do to improve our generation and furthermore, our country, communities and even futures?
There are so many divides today, we separate over almost anything. Empathy has the power to unite and connect people from all backgrounds, regions, experiences, everything. If you're asking me, that's all we really need to move forward. Connections, motivations to bring people together instead of diving everyone from each other. Whether you decide to take this to heart or not, it's so incredibly important to just open your mind and give other things and perspectives even just a chance; things that you don't know yourself. What you know personally isn't always right, or the best.
I'm more than grateful that my dad taught me this, and pushed me to hear other people's stories instead of just hearing my own. People have so much to tell, and so much to learn from others. Nothing is more valuable than being open to these new things and people.
This is my plea to my generation, to take a minute out of your day, past your anger, hurt, judgments and own emotions, to try and understand others. To learn something new, or try something you haven't yet before. Make a small difference to add to a huge cause. It's time to prove to our elders that we can be the generation this society needs to reconnect and bond again.
