BETWEEN OPINIONS, AND EMPATHY
An Opinion is a judgement or sentiment which the mind forms of persons or things. Opinions are everywhere because having one is not a hard nut to crack. Even without us realizing, we create views of people. We do not even need to understand things well before we have an opinion.
Empathy on the other hand, involved paying attention and understanding the feelings, thoughts and experiences of others. Simply, it means putting ourselves in someone's shoes (figuratively). It involves being reasonable enough to read between the lines and recognize those handwritings that are not on the wall. It takes a great deal of humility too to be empathetic. Empathy unlike opinions are not readily found.
I had an experience, which in a way relates to this. I had a coursemate who I felt was lazy and unserious because he was rarely in school. I did not even need to think about it too much before that opinion waltzed into my mind and stuck there. I had that opinion of him for years till we had a discussion towards our graduation, and I found out that he came from a broken home and in addition to schooling, he still ran around trying to make ends meet, so that he could cater for his siblings.
In conclusion, the view from outside is always different from the view from the inside. So before we draw up opinions about people and judge them for who we think they are, we should try to understand them (which may not be easy) because we may not even be able to walk a mile in their shoes if we knew the truth.
BETWEEN OPINIONS, AND EMPATHY An Opinion is a judgement or sentiment which the mind forms of persons or things. Opinions are everywhere because having one is not a hard nut to crack. Even without us realizing, we create views of people. We do not even need to understand things well before we have an opinion.
Empathy on the other hand, involved paying attention and understanding the feelings, thoughts and experiences of others. Simply, it means putting ourselves in someone's shoes (figuratively). It involves being reasonable enough to read between the lines and recognize those handwritings that are not on the wall. It takes a great deal of humility too to be empathetic. Empathy unlike opinions are not readily found.
I had an experience, which in a way relates to this. I had a coursemate who I felt was lazy and unserious because he was rarely in school. I did not even need to think about it too much before that opinion waltzed into my mind and stuck there. I had that opinion of him for years till we had a discussion towards our graduation, and I found out that he came from a broken home and in addition to schooling, he still ran around trying to make ends meet, so that he could cater for his siblings.
In conclusion, the view from outside is always different from the view from the inside. So before we draw up opinions about people and judge them for who we think they are, we should try to understand them (which may not be easy) because we may not even be able to walk a mile in their shoes if we knew the truth.