Empathy and quick thinking

Or why this was the best short movie in the world in 2014. Inspired from one of Gandhi's stories.

Extinction of the humanity and the age of independence

In one of his books, Darwin said that we became the top of the food chain, and we evolved as dominant species because we are compassionate and sympathetic as species. We care about others like us, and this made all the difference. Just to think about, our babies take the longest to reach the age of independence - 20-30 years on average until we are not depending of our parents. Most of the animals need one year to achieve the same result.

The problem is, as Sara Konrath research was showing, that empathy and compassion declined in the past 30 years. If we continue on this way, sooner or later we will become extinct as species. This is the beginning. And i will not even start with our leniency towards outsourcing our brain, using technology instead. We are now weaker than ever, even if we think we became stronger.

It is not a joke. It is a wake-up call.

Terms and definitions needed when one study happiness

In order to understand better my following posts, i decided to start by defining few terms that i will use more frequently, and are close to each other.

Kindness - behavior that involve being friendly, generous or considerate;

Pro-social - term favored by scientists to refer to kindness;

Compassion - literally means "suffer together", it is a feeling that arises when you witness another's suffering and feel motivated to help relieve that suffering;

Empathy - ability to sense on imagine other people's emotions;

Sympathy - means "feel together", feeling close to other's emotions, but without the urge to help as in the case of compassion;

Pity - feeling sorry for someone's suffering, but the observer occupies a place of superiority and look down to the one suffering, while in the case of compassion they are equals.

Did you know..

...that apparently there are two kind of empathy, one called affective empathy - the ability to sense other's people emotions, and one called cognitive empathy - the ability to imagine intellectually someone else emotions?

How i met your mother!

- Daddy, daddy, please tell me again the story of how you meet mom, said the little sleepy girl.

- Ok, my angel, i will tell you but you need to promise me that you will go to sleep after that!

- I promise daddy, she said smiling.

- Ok then. I was coming from the gym, trough the park, along the river. I was just touching the the surface of the feeling of the trees, a happy dog was next, and after that i was just feeling the people around me, enjoying a nice sunny day of September...

- You are an empath, right, daddy?

- Right, angel. Let me continue. I was enjoying the other people feelings when a girl come straight to me asking: How do you do that? I tried to read her, i feel her warm, focused and amazed. How i do what ? i asked. How you copy the exact aura of different people around you? I did not know that i was doing that, it is the first time to hear, so i presume you can see auras, no? Aaaa! I tried to say something to sound very scientific and important, but i was totally lost in her shiny black eyes. I had no words left.

- That was mum!

- Yes my dear, that was mum.

- What is an aura?

- An aura is like a field of energy, invisible to most of the people. 

- But not to mom.

- Exactly. Now close your eyes. Is time for you to sleep.

- It is. You know i keep my promises.

- Ok my little angel. Good night!

- Good night, daddy!

Note: Empathy is the ability to read and understand people and be in-tune with or resonate with others, voluntarily or involuntarily of one's empath capacity.