Empathy of people in your surroundings

My previous CEO empathises with the people. He was able to put himself in a situation where he would be desperate enough to actually ask and seek help purposely from others, and for that, I commend him for being a good leader and administrator we all should aspire to be.

Empathy is something I feel a few in every culture lack. Especially to have empathy from the top management for the things you are doing, more over what you are experiencing is not something you’ll get. Perhaps in a 100, 2 understand.

Empathy from people in your surroundings is not something we get easily as well. Often, people have expectations of what you should be, and when you fail to perform due to many reasons, they fail to understand or help to see why it happened or even asked why you failed the tasks. Instead, accusations, long faces and interrupted office relations or friendships are at cost!

It is summer and my sister and a cousin of mine had brought their friends to Brunei. I spend some time with them enough for them to start talking to me on matters irrelevant to things. They may think they are just chit-chatting, but I feel a sense of something else there...

A couple of times, these young people amazes me how they have ‘empathy’ of my sister and cousin to be in a different place, away from their loving and boisterous family and trying to fit into another culture using a different language.

I use the word “amaze” because they show and demonstrate a hierarchy of feelings that is often missing in one’s character, and also, they were able to illustrate such emotions at a young age.

These emotions are perhaps raw, but it exists. I do hope and wish they do not forget what it is to be like another person... in a different situation... it would help to make them a better person.

Rona, a Scottish flatmate I had in Uni, she empathises with me... In a funny way. I love her to bits... She was really sad when she found out that I had circumsicion at a young age. She worried that I would not be able to experience ‘pleasure’ of the flesh in the same manner as she had. It was funny... but it was sweet at the same time. She was most expressive and violent in her opinions about mutilation of sexual organs... but she stopped when she understood that it is not what ISLAM is all about. Its HYGIENE!

Yen, a Taiwanese flatmate in Uni, she was listening and watching me and several others doing a monthly budget of our spending and how much we have to save to purchase a flight home. She was worried we would be saving too much and not eating well or looking after ourselves that she offered to purchase our tickets home using her gold visa card!!!! It was very nice of her... but I never took her up on it. It was just a tad too much... but it was very touching... something I will never forget...

As a muslim student, obligations of ramadhan is carried out despite having classes through out the whole month. My lecturers were sweet. They informed the whole class what Ramadhan was... advised them not to eat and drink when around me as I was fasting... and would often remind me to bring sandwiches and drinks to class anytime I was about to break my fast! It was really really sweet and touching!

Empathy is not the same as sympathy. I often think and feel that empathy is a higher emotion than having sympathy for someone... Empathy makes your feet firmly latched to the ground... it exposes you to different conditions of life that is present around you!