“Highly sensitive people are too often perceived as weaklings or damaged goods. To feel intensely is not a symptom of weakness, it is the trademark of the truly alive and compassionate. It is not the empath who is broken, it is society that has become dysfunctional and emotionally disabled. There is no shame in expressing your authentic feelings. Those who are at times described as being a ‘hot mess’ or having ‘too many issues’ are the very fabric of what keeps the dream alive for a more caring, humane world. Never be ashamed to let your tears shine a light in this world.”
― Anthon St. Maarten
Most people are able to show empathy and understand the feelings and emotions of people, the ones who can’t are usually classified as psychopaths, narcissists, and sociopaths.
Whether the topic in question is a fact or not, let me be frank; my aim is not to persuade anyone but merely to allow any woman who is reading to rise and become as it says. I truly believe that we must speak that which we desire to see in the world. Our stance is women do not support women, but, we must change the narrative to ‘women support women’ if we want to see that happening.
There are many examples of resilient women around us, we see this daily through direct and indirect associations. Women have gotten the message and have begun to be the change in their circumstance and it speaks volume and confirms what we have known from the beginning of time; that we have a special place in the heart of our Father above. That we have a unique gift as women to create the change that this world needs. This leads me to think about the many examples of the women in the bible and how they oftentimes saved a nation.
Abigail
Esther
The Samaritan Woman at the well
The Servant Girl
Mary
Naomi
Should I go on…
They were not perfect but they did what they believed in their heart and spirit, they saw beyond themselves and their very action either prevented maladies, caused change or saved people from themselves.
Why Is Empathy Important?
Showing empathy demonstrates that we have the ability to understand what another person is going through. It encourages equity in our interactions because we no longer make decisions based on self and how self interprets, we instead view situations from different angles and perspectives. It encourages teamwork in organizations – leaders are open to hearing the perspective of THE TEAM. Generally, empathy improves how we care for each; I know you know the global impact this can have. For example, when countries go through natural disasters, other countries will help to shore up the basic needs of that particular group of people thereby enabling the recovery process to be less burdensome.
Empathy builds…
Isn’t that what we are called to do in these times? Isn’t that one of the things we need to save ourselves and the people around us? Wouldn’t that create the legacy and the foundation for young girls and daughters who look up to us. As more women recognize the need to rise up in their respective circumstances and take care of the needs of the community, the community and the people will flourish. As women support more women, we will build a stronger coalition (of women) who will contribute their expertise to the growth and development of their homes first, then the community, then the world at large.
We cannot hide from this responsibility, we were created this way. And so we must move beyond the self focused stance and work together to heal this world in a away that only we can.
Yes, we may be called the angry black woman, difficult, we may be oppressed, suffer defeat, shunned, rejected and a host of other things that are a part of life and that will render us self conscious, demotivated and cause us to question ourselves . Yet, we cannot allow these things to keep us down. No matter how you feel, get up and show up and out. Empathy enables us to, because we will always recognize that there is someone far worse off than we are who needs us.
And so we must be ready to keep going…
The world needs us as we are, empathetic, caring and not afraid to express ourselves. The world needs us all to start in our corner and to allow that empathy to extend beyond ourselves allowing us to champion causes that will create changes and cause a ripple effect that extends beyond our finite borders (so to speak) into infinity .
Here are 3 reasons why Empathy will make things better
1. Empathy causes us to move
as women we are automatically moved to action by another person’s distress, helping out will cause the individual to feel less alone.
2. Empathy inspires change and sometimes makes us better –
being able to step into someone else’s shoe allows us to see the solution we would apply to ourselves or want for ourselves if we were in the same situation. We may also see how we might have handled a situation poorly and make the necessary changes that will cause healing.
3. We learn that life should be looked at in a big picture way
We learn to assess situations by taking ourselves out of the equation and seeing the impact that a correct response or emotion will have.
Former US President, Barack Obama said, “The biggest deficit that we have in our society and in the world right now is an empathy deficit. We are in great need of people being able to stand in somebody else’s shoes and see the world through their eyes.”
Women are great at this! Can we all commit to being this change that the world needs, can we not leave it up to a few of us. Can we follow the women who have paved the way and have demonstrated how impactful lending a hand, rising to their greatness and looking out for the welfare of others can cause widespread changes. Will we fill the empathy gap that is so needed today by being our sister’s and brother’s keeper? By identifying situations that call for understanding and emotional intelligence as a way to bridge divides and heal our community. Can we commit to working with each other and not against each other by opening our minds and our hearts and understanding other’s view point.
I ask again. Can we commit to this?
I hope the answer will be yes!
Empathy has no script. There is no right way or wrong way to do it. It’s simply listening, holding space, withholding judgment, emotionally connecting, and communicating that incredibly healing message of ‘You’re not alone.’”
Brene Brown
