Have you ever considered the difference between sympathy and empathy?

When you read the news, do you react with thoughts or emotion?

I believe this is why our world is hurting, why humanity is crumbling from the outside in. Every day, stories are shared through social media to raise awareness of a variety of issues, but when was the last time you read something that prompted you to make a difference? When was the last time you actually stepped outside the technological bubble and into the real world on a mission to make a change?

Every time we like, comment or share material, we're expressing sympathy, merely coming together through digital threads, and that's simply not enough anymore. Empathy is what the world needs.

Empathy is the superpower that can bring humanity together. Empathy has the ability to connect people together through emotional threads. While sympathy allows us to keep our distance, empathy unites us from within the deepest parts of ourselves. It does more than place the idea of oneself in another's shoes, it puts in our entire self from our mind to our heart.

Today, I speak on behalf of those who don't just experience empathy but live and breathe it with every fiber of our being. Our imagination places us on the streets creating idealistic pictures of what we wish we could do to help. Our hearts break, crumble and shatter for those who have experienced the kind of loss and pain that words cannot begin to describe. Our bodies become limp as our minds race with the reminder that life is so precious and so short. It's like a jolt that brings us back into the present.

Because the present is the only time that we have.

You can like, comment, and share for however long you like, but every second that goes by sharing your sympathy does little compared to what could happen when you are empowered by empathy, driven to make a difference in another's life.

I say this because it's impossible to travel to every location touched by tragedy. It simply can't be done. But don't settle for expressing your sympathy and call it a day. Bring your empathy into the world a little bit at a time. Start within your own circles, sharing it with your friends and family. Better yet, extend it to everyone you interact with. Lead by example to remind them what empathy means and how it works. Empower them to practice it among others. Soon, your empathy will have started a chain reaction that will naturally spread itself across the world.

I know I sound like a dreamer, but my optimism is not naive. It is strengthened by realism, as I understand that true limitations exist. There are people that will stop us from joining hands in recognition of our humanity, in acceptance of all our differences. Those people are individuals who can't look beyond themselves or the situations they exist within. The difference between us and them may cause conflict, but we must not lose our empathy.

Consider this: even the world's worst criminal deserves a friend.

The moment we disagree with that statement is the moment we give up on others, and in turn, we will have let humanity down. We will have lost our optimistic realism and our empathy. We will have given in to the abyss of fear, hatred, and pain.

I implore you, dear reader, to rediscover your humanity, to find the place within yourself which your empathy resides and bring it to the light. Bring it forth and into the world and share it with others so they too may pass it on.

Maybe then, the world can begin to heal.