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Empathy is the cure to a broken world. A cure that can be achieved in a multitude of diverse and beautiful ways.

But it can begin quite simply…

Only if we’re open to it.

Only if we are willing to transcend ego.

Turn down the dial of our own expectations and pre-conceived perceptions, while turning up the dial that actively and authentically listens. The dial that initiates presence. Allowing us to start listening in order to understand and hear, rather than listening to react and respond for ourselves.

In conversation and connection, it’s often easy to calculate our every thought based on what we already know to be true, without being open to the difference in perspective being shared.

Empathy is not directly taught in school, but it can easily become a learned characteristic and skill.

Storytelling and travel have been my classroom for empathy.

My teachers?

• A colleague from China who doesn’t believe in religion.

• 6-year-old students asking me why I’m white, my hair blonde, and how I can understand their native speech.

• The couple generously sharing their spicy Korean street food with me, while unable to produce words in the same language to converse.

• My adult student and dear friend bringing me gifts from Cameroon made from beads and tire rubber.

• My dear neighbor taking me to dinner and telling me about Chinese politics.

•  Several moments of awkward laughter and misunderstanding forcing an uncomfortable patience amidst navigating situations and conversations with waiters, bar tenders, strangers, taxi drivers, and new friends abroad.

These teachers were not educators by trade, but were an undeniable piece of my life-long learning. Humans who grew up in different time zones, who were raised under different societal beliefs,  who have a heart that beats just like mine.

When it comes to connection and functioning in this world as global citizens, I often feel that the simplicity of treating each other with raw human dignity gets lost along the way.

I notice it’s too often blocked by the complexity of our own egos. Our egos who are working relentlessly and subconsciously to create misunderstanding.

I urge you to open your eyes.

Open your ears.

Readjust your dials.

Look at the difference of others through a lens of compassion. 

Plant a seed of empathy, and watch how beautiful it grows.