What is empathy? Well, in my opinion it is a gift learned over time. Not everyone knows the feeling of having empathy for another. People who have suffered a great deal in their lives know all too well the feeling of hurt, loneliness and despair. Out of that struggle you find yourself relating to others who have been to hell and back. For me empathy is a blessing and a curse. It is the overwhelming emotion of sadness and compassion for people time and time again. There are times when i am learning about a person's experience in life and I am filled with emotion and the tears start to flow. The overwhelming feeling of that individuals pain and sadness consumes me and for a moment we share that energy...that moment.
The ability to have the gift of empathy is quite possibly the only positive thing that came out of my traumatic childhood.
The next time you see a homeless person begging for money I ask you to contemplate this: that maybe that person was not able to come out of the struggle and live a normal life. Try not to go to that dark place in your mind where you just see the homeless beggar as an alcoholic/drug addict who is doing nothing with their life. It is easy to judge when we do not know a person's personal struggle.
