Empathy

Empathy: 
noun. "the ability to understand and share the feelings of another."

Some people empathise with others a lot; I think of my mum and her ability to cry at any remotely sad moment on television. I worry that one day, I'll end up doing the same. But irrespective of our pain or emotional 'threshold', we all have the capacity within us to feel for another. I love that we've been created that way: with shared emotions, as we share human life together, each with shared ability to laugh, cry, rage or envy for ourselves and for others.

Yet, over the past few weeks I've been struck by an article about lions and people; an articulate piece of writing that pinpoints some very valid points about this feeling of empathy:


"We cannot empathise with a group, a fact that has been exploited throughout history with appalling consequences. Of course, we need to refer to people collectively for all sorts of reasons. But groups are comprised of individuals with names and faces and stories to tell." 

-Clare Allan. 


Our world is comprised of lots of individuals; over 7 billion. So it's impossible for us to empathise with everyone on the planet and even if we tried, we would probably end up in a dangerous emotional state. It's not a good idea to try to engage with the world's problems all at once, but recently, engaging with the news more seriously means I've been empathising more seriously too.

I'm empathising with the people of Burundi, where political conflict is ongoing and barely heard of in the news here. I'm thinking of families I prayed for when living in Rwanda and wondering what's happened to them now. I'm empathising with the individuals and families temporarily dwelling in Calais, and my brain still can't comprehend that there's a refugee camp in France that nobody seems to be helping. I'm wondering what we should do. What we can do.

I turned to Ecclesiastes - one of those books in the Bible that is rather different to the rest - and stopped at these words:


"Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun; 
I saw the tears of the oppressed -
and they have no comforter;
Power was on the side of their oppressor;
and they have no comforter."

- Ecclesiastes 4:1


Such is the case today. And with this reality, I realised that empathy - caring for another - can inspire us to action; attempting to make the world a better place. Caring for the needs of another, you'll do anything to help. And that passion to care should drive us to change.

And if this all sounds too abstract, here are some concrete ideas: To pray for transformation in broken countries like Burundi or to talk to MPs about what's happening in Calais. And if not these, take action when you feel uneasy, uncomfortable or upset about the news. Take notice when you're empathising.

Empathy won't change the world, but our actions resulting from empathy could make a difference. Because humans weren't created to live independently; we're called to love and support one another in tangible ways, not just with feelings.