If you could hear everyone’s thoughts all of the time, you would probably view the world in a different way. It would be a blessing and a curse. You’d be so well-rounded; however, you would also have a very hard time picking sides and figuring out your own view point.
Sometimes ignorance and stubbornness can be a blessing because you are always sure of what you know; there aren’t a lot of decisions to be made.
This is how I feel about empathy. I am so empathetic to my core that I have a hard time tolerating people with harsh opinions. I can’t side with one person because I can usually see both sides of the argument and think compromise is the best solution or discussion.
Not many people think this way from what I’ve gathered and it makes me seem like I cannot commit or have loyalty. I can see the big picture and I don’t want anyone to get hurt, so I try to mediate all of the time. Being the mediator when it’s not welcomed is basically like not being on either person’s side. Even when I’m in a disagreement myself I have a hard time winning because I don’t want to totally kibosh the other person’s opinion.
I think we are all entitled to our opinions and they all have merit because they are formed based on our current set of knowledge, our experiences and personalities. Why does everyone have to be so confrontational? Why does everyone have to be so closed-minded?
I think that being empathetic makes me seem weak but in all reality I am strong and tolerant enough to respect other people’s opinions. I am confident enough to admit that I’m not the smartest person in the room all of the time or that I may not understand someone’s feelings. The problem is that admitting that doesn’t get you respect or admiration for maturity, it just means that you lose or are wrong. I hate this. Most people disagree and don’t stop arguing until someone “wins”. Why? Why can’t we stop when we’ve both come to understand the other’s opinion and have determined a plan?
When you have important people in your life you are supposed to side with them – hands down. That’s really hard for me. It’s not that I don’t love them enough; it’s that I can see the other person’s side and I want them to see it as well. I want them to be able to see what I see so that they can be better informed. Having good intentions doesn’t mean shit to some people though, so I guess I’ll just have to tolerate the fall out.
