The ability to put ourselves in somebody’ shoes is, perhaps, the best quality we can nurture in our life. We are born selfish and self-centered, waiting for our needs to be fulfilled. But, throughout our life, we gradually "decenter" and give ourselves to others. To family, friends, to love. Empathy is an act of peace, it’s trying to see other points of view, to be able to seek a reason for other’s actions that may seem, to us, from unusual to cruel. By this I don’t say that we should lack critical sense, but it needs to be constructive and, if possible, contribute to helping others, and ourselves to understand them as well.
Everything has a reason, we all act based on reasons. Trying to understand the reason that makes someone do something shows empathy, but also kindness and generosity. Because empathy encompasses many qualities, and all of them are positive. We all have our views, often divergent. Everything we say and do is subject to other’s interpretation and judgment, to misunderstandings and miscommunications. What we do with the best purpose can be poorly received.
We are all different, we think differently and even see differently.
Trying to understand others, their personality, their context, and even their mood is one of the highest forms of humanity.
Isabel
www.isabelnolasco.com
Photos: Kids of East Timor.
Taken with my Canon EOS 5D MKIII.
Have a great week ahead, my friends!
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