Point of view

“If you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view — until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” ~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

Folks who lack empathy view everything solely from their own perspective. Putting their own needs first, they hear only what they want to hear. They rarely question if their actions are hurtful or offensive.

They’re often convinced that their beliefs and opinions are the Universal Truth — and can’t understand why other people are sometimes at odds with them. Or, as Anne Lamott put it: “You can safely assume you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.”

Can empathy be acquired or learned? Is there a cure for acute self-righteousness? Is compassion a skill that can be taught? I don’t know. But I like to imagine what life would be like if everyone would pause and consider the feelings of others before acting on their own impulses. ~CL