Empathy

I used to think I was quite an empathic person, that I was good at putting myself in other people’s shoes and understanding how they might feel in a certain situation. I have recently come to very seriously re-evaluate however - maybe I am good at empathising people who’s lives are very similar to my own (in that they are financially stable straight white men), but that is a tiny sliver of all of the possibilities experienced by people, and I have no clue about all of the rest of them. I lack so, so much context in understanding how the vast majority of people interact with the world and how those interactions inform their thoughts and feelings. But, I think empathy is a quality that’s important to me to have, and one that I want to nurture and grow. So I’m going to try to be more curious about the experiences of other people, to pay more attention, to try to accrue more context. I think it’s gonna turn out to be pretty fun.