In my humble opinion: Power of Empathy

Collapsing economy and global unrest: What we need today is empathy - the ability to re-create another person’s perspective, to experience the world from the other’s point of view.

It may be impossible to ever experience another’s perspective completely, but with enough effort we can certainly gain a better idea of how the world appears to him/her.

Empathy involves three dimensions – perspective taking, emotional dimension, and genuine concern.

The need of the day is empathy, which is very important in our personal and also in our professional lives.

We all experience environments, situations that are tough master: teaching us lessons the hard way, but in the end train us to be more analytical, adaptive and assertive, all at the same time.

All I can say for sure is that I have learnt the fact that every situation is unique and that we have to pick our battles wisely.

Studies show that there are four ways to deal with a situation - “I’m Right, You’re Wrong,” approach “You’re Right, I’m Wrong” approach, “Both Right, Both Wrong” approach and “The Issue Isn’t As Important As It Seems” approach.

No one knows which approach works best or if there is a certain combination that may work best.

As a matter of fact there is a fair amount of truth in all four perspectives the only thing that is required is a bit of coordination and a lot of empathy.

We need to connect beyond the social, economic and political spheres and the only way we can do that is if we re-create another person’s perspective, to experience the world from the other’s point of view.

Fairytale News Story

FROM RUGS TO RICHES...

Our charming prince of Fairy Land finally found the love of his life, the girl who he has been looking for - the right fit to the glass slipper.

The mystery girl is Cinderella, an orphan from the outskirts of Fairy Land.

After an intensive nation wide search the prince’s guards found her in her family’s backyard, working like a slave.

This all began at the country ball last month where the prince met her, dressed like a princess decked in jewels and pearls from head to toe.

Our prince was so mesmerized by her beauty that he danced all night with her, and forgot to ask her name.

The mystery girl left at the strike of midnight and all there was to go after was her glass slipper that she left behind.

Cinderella's mother passed away when she was just a baby and now she lives with her stepmother and two stepsisters.

“We have never seen this girl before,” commented most of the neighbors and others thought that Cinderella is the maid of the house because they say, "She's always running around the house in rugs and dirty clothes, doing all the household chores."

When the guards arrived at Cinderella’s door, her sisters tried every trick to fit in that slipper but in vain.

This was the last house left to find the mystery love of our prince.

Was very disappointing not to find the love of prince's life and made the Fairy Land sad.

No one mentioned Cinderella, until one of the guards say this girl in rugs washing the stone walls of the house.

Since this was the last house left, the guard thought - might as well as this girl to try.

The gathered crowd made mocked and made fun as the guard asked her to try the slipper on.

But, "God works in his own ways."

Not only did Cinderella’s foot slip easily into that slipper but she also had the other one safe.

Our prince's happiness has no bounds...

Down he went on his knees and slipped the ring on his love's finger.

Cinderella thanked her fairy Godmother for her blessings and how she granted her wish to go the ball, while her stepmother and stepsisters made fun of her and left her behind.

Cinderella’s fairy Godmother turned a pumpkin into a coach, rats into the coachmen and changed her rags into the most beautiful dress.

But her magic was to last till midnight only, and that’s when Cinderella ran from the ball leaving her slipper behind as she ran breathlessly.

Cinderella is the envy of the town today.

She has a heart of gold - for all that her stepmother and stepsisters did to her, she decided to forgive them and live with her prince charming happily ever after.

This is indeed a match made in heaven and blessed by the angels.

A visit to the Japanese Internment Memorial, San Jose CA

The Japanese Internment Memorial is a remorseful reminder of the sad events that followed the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, when approximately 110,000 Japanese and Japanese Americans were relocated to seclusion camps/areas or confinement.

Ruth Asawa, sculptor and designer of the Japanese Internment Memorial in San Jose CA was one of those who were detained and relocated to one of these confinements in 1942.

One can feel her pain and anguish which is very evident in her detailed and elaborate vignettes that adorn the place.

Each vignette cries out loud of suffering, a unique story, a cry, a sulk that went unheard and unanswered.

The barbed wires, inhuman living conditions, people flocked like herds - all are sad tales of fear and suppression that prevailed, and the atrocity is that innocent people lived through it day in and day out.

Everyone, including innocent kids became part of this ordeal – confined, rather imprisoned in despair and indefinitely.

A seemingly never-ending torture for reasons best known to the ones who were far from this painful reality.

As I moved from one vignette to the next, a strange sadness gripped me and I felt like touching them but was scared as if touching might overpower me and that it may actually suck me.

When just looking at it can stir such deep emotions then I really wonder what it must have been to live through a life of fear and animosity.

Each vignette compelled me to ponder upon the question as to how can one human do this to another human.

What can actually transpose us and overcome the compassion and basic instincts of inherent intelligence.

And these questions still resonates in my mind when I sit down in silence to think about what I say at the Memorial.

Can an apology ease the pain or erase the memories and bring back normalcy in the minds and hearts of the people or generations that lived through the horror.

Human history has already been tarnished by this event and events like these but we must learn from our mistakes and let our actions demonstrate our apology.

I guess the Japanese Internment Memorial should be set as a reminder of what we have learnt from this experience and a promise in our heart that such a thing shall never be repeated – not here and not anywhere.