“The only way you can impact anyone is to understand them a little bit. Ya gotta be able to see through someone else’s eyes, kid.” – The Colonel
My life’s journey has taught me beyond a shadow of a doubt that there are three sides to every story: yours, mine, and the truth. Each person views life, love, conflict, work, justice, and faith from their own paradigm. Each person’s unique, personal journey shapes their perception. Therefore, I can’t ever truly see things from your perspective, nor can you ever truly see things from mine. Still, I can try to put myself in your shoes long enough to empathize with your position.
Empathy comes from a commonality, a oneness. It involves the ability to understand how a person is feeling based upon a similar experience. It pertains to the ability to say, “I can imagine how that feels.” While I may have never placed my hand on a hot stove and received third-degree burns on my hand, I have tripped and fallen against the furnace in our home and received third-degree burns on my arm. I can, therefore, say, “I know how that feels.”
I may not have watched my spouse or child in the prime of their life waste away and succumb to the ravages of cancer, but I have watched my late mother do so. I know the sickening feeling of helplessness and the sad sense of loss. I can, therefore, empathize.
Significance requires empathy. The only way to genuinely empathize with another person and get at the truth of any matter is to try to see things through their eyes, to walk for a while in their shoes. We may not be entirely successful in doing so, and it’s not always a comfortable journey. Still, it’s an excellent place to start. It’s also the only path to impacting that person.
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