Lost & Found: Humanity’s Missing Heart

What’s something most people don’t understand?

Once upon a time, in a land not so far away—let’s call it Earth—people possessed a magical ability called empathy. It allowed them to feel what others felt, understand pain without experiencing it firsthand, and offer kindness without expecting a return. But alas, as the world became faster, louder, and more self-involved, this magical ability started fading.

Today, empathy is like an old cassette tape—most people remember it, but very few actually use it. Instead, we’ve perfected the art of nodding absentmindedly while secretly scrolling through our phones, pretending to listen but mentally drafting a reply to an unrelated WhatsApp message.

“We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” — Epictetus

Yet, somewhere between our morning coffee and our social media rants, we forgot this wisdom. Now, we listen just enough to form a response, not enough to understand. A friend pours their heart out, and we respond with, “Yeah, I totally get it. This reminds me of the time I…”—and suddenly, we’re the protagonist in their tragedy.

“The biggest communication problem is we do not listen to understand. We listen to reply.” — Stephen R. Covey

Imagine if for one day, we all swapped our Wi-Fi connection for a ‘human connection.’ If instead of cutting people off mid-sentence, we paused. If instead of judging, we questioned, “How would I feel if I were in their place?”

Wouldn’t the world be softer?

“Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes. After that, who cares? You’re a mile away and you have his shoes!” — Unknown (but clearly, a genius)

Thought to Ponder:
What if, for a change, we didn’t just hear people—but actually listened?