Empathy

(...background music by Taylor Swift's You Belong With Me...)

Ramadhan is here again. I am all excited (although I did not really show it) about the arrival of the holiest of all the months. I truly believe in doing things sincerely to get God's blessings (not making excuses) and not just because everyone is doing it. But I have started with the fasting but the other 'side dishes' is yet to come. So today, will try my best to perform Tarawikh and also the reciting of Quran.

So, in conjunction with this month, I was thinking on writing this topic (which I have thought for a long time). It is just about feeling empathy about people around us. This got me thinking as I was caught in the most awkward situation. For those who are not familiar, the place where I work, we are provided transportation to go from one place to another in our working premises. Basically these van drivers are at our backing call.

So in this one scenario, where I was in the van together with a colleague of mine were in the van talking until we reached to our destination. At the stop, I went down and said thank you to the driver and also threw a smile at the driver. The driver reciprocate with a nod and a smile also. As we walked to the door, this colleague asked a question, "Why did you say thank you?". I was liked, "Why? Is it wrong to say that?". The person replied, "No. Why say thank you to someone who is actually doing what he is being paid for?". Cricket.....cricket....

What the fudge?!!! I was dumbfounded by that statement. Believe it or not, these service providers are also human beings with feelings and issues (although they are being paid for). We will bitch like hell, if we were under appreciated by our superiors saying that, "The boss does not understands me" or "He is an a-hole for not rewarding my hard work" etc...

I believe this is what lacking in our society. We need to be more empathetic to the other people and stop being a self-indulgence-narcissistic-bitch all the time. Try to recall the feeling of being appreciated by others and try to reciprocate to the rest of the world. Basically, pay it forward. If we truly want to change the world, this to me is the easiest way to start.

Ciao!