Waiting for the DHL courier to arrive from USCIS. Meanwhile, someone’s request for a work permit was denied. It’s funny how it makes you nervous about your own permit. Suddenly you want that assurance that your case has been approved. Insecurity is such a fickle state of mind. It makes you apprehensive, although you can’t relate exactly to the other person’s experience.
What does it mean to relate with another’s experience? You can never be in another’s shoes… never! Each person’s experience shapes his/her response to the given circumstances. And you can’t replicate the exact set of experiences across 2 different human beings. Yet, all that is just theory. A logical impossibility can be disproved by that human quality of empathy. When you relate, you empathize with the other person. It may not necessarily evoke any compassion. It could be just a cold and impersonal identification of the other person’s frame of mind.
And the more experiences I gather – in first person or indirectly – the better I will be at relating to other people, their situation and their thoughts. That’s why I am a sucker for collective learning. I can never learn alone what I can learn when working in a group. And that – working in groups – was the best part about the year at ISB!
What does it mean to relate with another’s experience? You can never be in another’s shoes… never! Each person’s experience shapes his/her response to the given circumstances. And you can’t replicate the exact set of experiences across 2 different human beings. Yet, all that is just theory. A logical impossibility can be disproved by that human quality of empathy. When you relate, you empathize with the other person. It may not necessarily evoke any compassion. It could be just a cold and impersonal identification of the other person’s frame of mind.
And the more experiences I gather – in first person or indirectly – the better I will be at relating to other people, their situation and their thoughts. That’s why I am a sucker for collective learning. I can never learn alone what I can learn when working in a group. And that – working in groups – was the best part about the year at ISB!
7 comments:
its a nice point that you bring out..but in your defence, i have to say you're better than most at genuine empathy.
thx dude... but it doesn't serve well to be genuine all the time ;)
Very interesting point put across.To quote you, each person's response is shaped depending on their own experience and exposure.
When asked to see one's self in another person's shoes, is really for the affect not the response.What do you reckon?
True, the proverbial stepping into other's shoes is a dramatization used for the affect, more than anything else.
However, the affect and the response (if you are actually in the situation) are both conditioned by the individual's experiences. That's the common breeding ground.
bang on dude...! exactly my philosphy..! the most misused statement in the world is not 'sorry'...rather 'i understand'...! but no bloody person does...cause no one can ever...!
although...what works wonderfully...almost magically...is how...the more u get to map people's reactions to events...the more u develop an understanding of the similar events that shall unfold in your life...!
awesome shit...we humans rock..! :)
dude...stumbled here somehow...nice posts...keep blogging!
Ankur: I understand! :)
DHC: I definitely intend to... thx for dropping by.
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