Many people have a tendency to not want to be concerned with issues that don’t ‘hit close to home’ because they think that something like that would never happen, but even if most people never experience a natural disaster or poverty, it’s vital that we learn to be a little more mindful of what happens to other people around the world, even if we don’t see how it can relate to our lives.

Mindfulness is the first thing, in my opinion, to understand the world we live in. There are Some who have the pleasure of traveling to other countries to see how other people may live, there are others who take classes about different cultures. Now I know that everyone can’t travel to different places, but you shouldn’t have to leave the country or your home to become aware of the different ways that people live. All you need to try to do is look at the world through different lenses and see instead of just looking. homeless people are judged by many because they have never experienced what it’s like not to have a home or because they just assume that the person is homeless because of something they did to put themselves in that situation. But if we haven’t walked a mile in their shoes, do we really have the right to pass judgement?

Yes, you do have the right to your own opinion, but don’t you think that the world would be a much better place if we replaced apathy with empathy? When you start to place blame on someone for their own circumstances, you are giving up the duty that you have to your neighbor. This doesn’t need to be someone who lives in your neighborhood or the person next door. If we all look at each other as universal citizens or better yet, as one big family, then everyone you pass on the street is your family.

Let’s pretend that we all looked at the world that way. From that viewpoint, it’s easier to see that putting blame on a person for their failure to get a job or to keep a roof over their heads is in a way being apathetic. Apathy is when you choose to not show concern for anything and when you choose to blame that person for something that happened to them, you are showing that you don’t care to understand this person’s dilemma or even how it affects those people who truly care about them.

It’s so easy to be apathetic, especially if you are one to not pay attention to the news or if you have no idea what’s happening to other people around the world. Lots of people live out their entire lives without opening their eyes and still think that they can truly see. But once we start really trying see into what it’s like to wear this the other person’s shoes, the world becomes a completely different place. Not only because you are now more mindful but because that mindfulness can lead to understanding, but only if you let it.

Empathy IS NOT about feeling sorry for someone, it’s about feeling what their feeling even if you can’t fully understand their circumstances. It’s about stepping outside of your emotional box and realizing that at the source of all of your experiences are feelings that can surpass any cultural, religious, and racial barriers that exist in the world today. You don’t have to be in agreement with a person’s feelings or their situation but don’t let judgment be your first reply to that disagreement. Actually, don’t let it be any of your replies. It’s very hard for us to really understand what other people are going through because we don’t often take the time to try to understand. Again, I know that might be difficult for everyone to do but empathy is not a foreign idea. We all have the capability to be empathetic; to understand and share the feelings of others. Even though our experiences may vary, our emotions are all the same. There is not one emotion that is unique to any one culture, race, or religious group. Once we all understand that, the world will slowly but surely become a better a place to live in.