It’s Not What You Think #Empathy

The things we see in life are not always what they appear to be. Many life events can go either way if we take the time to look differently.

Let’s take grief. Grief isn’t only about death, but it what we assume when we hear or read that word. Grief can be the loss of a relationship, the loss of a limb or body part due to illness or cancer, loss due to Alzheimer’s. Grief can be the loss of a friendship, especially nowadays when our nation is so polarized. The forms of grief from death are gut wrenching: loss of parents, children, spouses, dear friends. And, for every loss, the experience is different from one person to the next.

Then there are the people that struggle with fear. There were thousands of parents at West Ada School District this week that stood in line to turn in an opt our form for their kids to not be required to wear a mask in school. Seriously? These parents are literally putting their child in danger of contracting a deadly virus as well as putting the lives of teachers and school staff in danger. There is no such thing as a religious exemption and if there is a medical issue, home schooling is your option. But do not put people in our community at risk. Fear based disinformation is the only excuse they have. What is alarming is that they fail to see how selfish their actions are.

There are people we see around town, and we wonder why they act the way they do. I can honestly tell you that something in their lives are either giving them joy or giving them a great deal of stress. Don’t be too quick to judge. You just never know.

I wrote a paragraph about disinformation and quickly backspaced it. You just never know how someone grew up and what sort of indoctrination they received. Some people can break the cycle, some cannot, some do not. You just never know.

Finally, my featured picture. I came across this young couple on the trail this week and they gave me joy at this scene. Turns out they are lifelong friends working on a school project. This picture shows the true joy of friendship. They were delightful. I never asked their names but wished them a good life. It wasn’t what I thought.

#LifeLesson #Friendship #Empathy