June 21, 2018

The easy answer is: everyone.

But humans are trash sometimes, and we don't always think that way.

Mostly because a lot of people lack empathy, especially when it applies to people we don't know, or people we have beef with, or people who have hurt us.

Empathy means you give a shit about other people. You care about their life experience, how they feel, what they care about and what motivates them.

Loving someone is just empathy amplified.

Because when you really love someone - I mean really love someone - then you start to act weird. You put their needs and wants before your own. You start making changes in yr own life because you care so much about their wants, needs, and ambitions.

You're willing to look at yr own behaviours and go

"shit, are the things I'm saying/doing negatively impacting the person I care about?"

and if the answer is 'yes' then you try and correct course to the best of your ability. Because that's what you do when you love someone. Even though it can be tough to put down your pride, prejudice, or assumptions about that person, you do yr best and try to act with empathy.

And if we're willing to do that with people we care about, why is it so hard to extend that same caring and thoughtfulness to other people

even if they look

or sound

or act differently than we do?

It seems obvious if you ask me. Empathy can heal our broken society.

Maybe not everyone thinks this way. But maybe we should.

Maybe the world would be a little nicer if we did.