Empathy for Our Fellow Human
Rolling eyes and deep sighs. Continuous honking horns. No "excuse me". No "Good Morning" or "Have a good night". Oh, and forget about getting a returned smile. Is it just me, or has this country, and possibly this world, lost our sense of compassion, patience, and courtesy for our fellow humans? I can't help but feel disappointed (and sometimes enraged, depending on the situation) every time I'm out. Friendly hellos and smiles seem to be in short supply. And although I strongly feel the politics in this country in the past year most likely have a large role in today's behaviors, I don't believe that is the sole reason for the change. What do I think are the other causes of this disappointing world, you ask?
Greed, impatience, & assumptions.
a) Greed
To me, greed is one of our biggest issues. We want, want, want (and trust me, I am definitely a 'wanter') so much that we disregard our needs, let alone, someone else's needs. This greed turns to selfishness, which then turns to frustration when we don't get everything we want. That frustration then turns to pissyness that we take out on others. We want an item that's out of stock, so we bitch at the cashier (and we've all seen the "let me see your manager" lady). We want that closer parking spot, so we cut someone else off and give them the finger when they honk at us.
And greed doesn't apply to just wanting money or physical items - attention is sometimes the ugliest monster of all greeds. And the one that drives me up a wall the most when I encounter it! For example, I have the displeasure of working with one of the whiniest, sneakiest, most attention-seeking little gremlins one could ever encounter. He will do whatever it takes to get his preferred amount of attention every day. This includes regularly talking over others, taking credit for things that he absolutely did not contribute towards, attempting to hoard information and meeting invitations, and even blatantly lying when he's asked a question. Sounds like a fricken peach to work with every day, right? ;)
b) Impatience
I'm sure you can agree that we are always in a rush, as if getting to where we're going is always life or death. I am most guilty of this (but working on chilling out...). Sitting outside at a restaurant at the mall, my mom and I repeatedly witnessed cars that refused to stop/wait at the stop sign for pedestrians to cross the street. Nevermind the fact that there's a big 'pedestrian crossing' sign and the speed limit is most certainly not that of a regular main street. These people were clearly in dire need to get to the mall, restaurants, or the highway (*rolls eyes with sarcasm*). One woman was in such a rush that she briefly slowed down, rolled the stop sign, and sped up coming within just a couple of feet from hitting an elderly man in a wheelchair. I mean commmeeeee onnnnnnnnn. I wanted to throw my bottomless french fries at her car (but I refrained).
c) Assumptions
Now I will be the first to say that I am extremely judgemental, but have gotten much better. However, to be fair, I usually judge based on one's behavior rather than the way one looks. When I say that assumptions are a cause of our lack of empathy, I mean that we are so quick to judge others that we don't take the time to consider why one may act a certain way or do things differently. We (including myself) will jump quickly to "dear God, you're getting on my nerves/you're too slow/you're bad at that" etc. before we ever stop and think of the why. I'll use my own bad habits as an example. Walking through Target this evening, we see (and hear) a ton of kids all over. I was unaware the store had 25% off all toys... Every corner I turned, there was a kid running past me, screaming, crying, throwing a full-on tantrum, or talking with their family. For the ones screaming, crying, or throwing a tantrum, I immediately assumed (and said out loud to my mom), "those parents do not know how to discipline their kids." I continued to complain (in-and-out of my "ooo, look at this" and "this is cute" distractions) about how annoying it was to be in a store with kids who aren’t well disciplined. In all honesty, I have no idea how those children are disciplined. I don't know their regular behavior, their parents, or even the real reason each one was upset. But in the moment, I didn't care...and I definitely wasn't smiling or being empathetic towards those parents (whom I really have no right to judge because I have never been a parent of kids).
The point I'm trying to make (likely with far too many words) is that we should all slow down, get out of our own selfish heads, and get back to showing compassion and empathy towards our human neighbors. We all have SO many things to worry about, but it is easy to forget that the person next to you has the same, or different, things on their minds, too. So wait for that family to cross the street; smile at the parents stressing over their kiddo having a fit; say 'thank you for your help' to that cashier that couldn't find the item you want. Most importantly:
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