We spend every day caught up in a hustle that blocks out what is out there; we live in the rush of sorting out life itself, and rarely do we pause to look around and notice what is happening around us or to us. It seems unbelievable how deeply we are immersed in our own lives, in our own pettiness and self-compassion, looking inward and trying to end the day with a single smile, forgetting or dismissing our surroundings.
I wouldn’t dare to judge whether this is a conscious act or a choice, a forgetful execution or simply a push toward oblivion. I suppose that is something each of us must carry and decide what to do with.
Empathy seems to be a scarce asset these days; it feels as if the faster life goes by, the harder it becomes to be empathetic. How? We have become such busy creatures, submerged in social media, wishing for the things that people post that happiness, that car, that body. We have learned to live online emotions, desires, hopes, and dreams, so that our actual humanity is now fading and placed second. Becoming fashionable, trendy, getting followers, selling ourselves has become the norm. We even dare to post the help we provide, when it should be a selfless act. I have done it myself, telling myself it is a way to attract more help. I am not certain if that has worked at all; I just feel we are being dehumanized to the point that even the selfless act of truly helping others in exchange for nothing has become a trade for likes.
There are wars going on, there are children dying, families torn apart, real suffering and it seems so far away, so unimportant. I don’t know if what I expect is for people to get their act together and return to values and principles, or simply that they care in some way.
I myself am one of the millions of people affected by the evil that is loose and rampaging around the world, and I have experienced the lack of empathy firsthand. I once heard someone say that what happened in my country is the result of our own doing, despite the millions of displaced people, almost nine million to date. I don’t think all of us chose it. I once heard a young woman from a neighboring country say, “I am fed up with your people in my country,” not knowing that we received almost five million of her fellow citizens forty years ago due to the drug cartels and guerrilla warfare that overtook her country. In the end, we may or may not choose, collect, or be collateral damage for the wrongdoings of a few, or of many. However, it is up to each one of us to stop and try to see life every now and then through the lens of our neighbor, friends, acquaintances, family—for we don’t know when life will strike us down and we will long for that little attention, word, handshake, hug, look, or smile that will boost our morale and give us the necessary push to carry on our fight and conquer life again.
