What the World Needs

In our success-oriented, social media-driven world, speed is everything. We have to get places fast and find answers immediately. We fill our days with what will benefit or entertain us.

But there is an important thing missing and that is empathy. Empathy is the ability to feel with and care about other people. It goes against our tendency to ignore others in our desire to succeed and our preoccupation with the latest news or gossip item on our iPhone.

It takes time to look into other people’s eyes and really see them. It takes time to listen to another’s agonizing stories and respond with loving concern. It may even inconvenience us to find something for them or run an errand.

What kind of world do we want to pass on to our children? Do we want them to see us rush from one thing to another, unseeing and uncaring? Or do we want them to see us take time to listen to them and care about others’ needs?

Empathy is especially important in the classroom, restaurants, and care homes. Some teachers just want to finish the chapter; others stop and take notice of children who require special attention. There are waiters/waitresses who wait impatiently for our order and those who smile and ask if there is anything else we need. There are nurses and doctors whose clients are just a case, not a real person who needs to know what is wrong in plain language.

Empathy is not something that’s taught, but rather something that’s caught. There is no roadmap or plan to guide us. We just need to mentally put ourselves in the other’s shoes and feel their pain or sadness. We might need to waste a little time with those we encounter, letting them know they are important and valuable no matter how old or handicapped they are, giving them a smile or even a hug, making their day brighter and their world more livable.

 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
  Limping to God I come to you, God, weather-beaten and limping, asking for forgiveness for all the times I have failed to be faithful and attentive to all those around me, especially the elderly who have run the race, the poor, the lonely and abandoned, who need my care and concern.     Is there any hope for these old bones? What will it take to change my limp into a surge of energy and a ready step? Teach me to become more caring, more responsive, more aware. Give me eyes to see and the will to act on my good intentions.   Water my dried up spirit and shriveled body, expand my shrunken heart. Give me eyes to see what you are leading me to do even as my bones creak and my legs become unsteady. Make me remember that I am here to serve, to listen, to be ready to be your hands and feet today.   Barbara Mayer, OSB    
Read more
Image
  Inspired by Scholastica Learning from Grief When I read the news headlines today (and most days), I felt overwhelmed with sadness. Most of the news was about shootings, injustices, tragedies, and murders. I wanted to ignore the grief, to put it out of my mind.   But Richard Rohr, a Catholic author, says we need to feel the grief because it has a lot to teach us. It seems the writers of the Psalms knew this. Of the 150 psalms, a third are about grief.   The psalmists grieved being overcome by enemies, losing loved ones, leaving their land, suffering illness, and more. The psalms of lament teach us that there is value in God-oriented exasperation. The psalmists always seemed to know God was with them and would help them survive. Our tears and sorrow are signs of our humanity. Lament is a very deeply spiritual practice. It is important to take time to grieve and to heal from our losses. One author called lament a ritual of cleansing and preparation for what is yet to come. Wit
Read more
Image
  Inspired by Scholastica     A Tree’s Lament The fierce winds blew whipping my branches, stripping my leaves. Then I felt a painful crack down my right side ripping open a limb, crippling my strength.   I feared the storm’s wildness raging on-- would it end my life on this peaceful green spot overlooking the graves of women long passed, with old majestic buildings looming behind me?   It holds so many memories of flowing robes and veils, women who devoted their lives to prayer and teaching and serving others.   Maybe my broken wound will heal and not be deadly. Hopefully they will not chop me down completely, let me live a little longer to provide shade and beauty for my monastery home.   Barbara Mayer, OSB              
Read more