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Day 4 - Trust and Empathy

Every human relationship begins with trust. It also is a huge part of human interaction. If you cannot get this right then everything that follows is null and void, useless! It is also true that trusting someone blindly is risky and may lead to serious issues in future. So where then do we draw the line?

We have always been taught not to talk to strangers. When we grew up, we understood that we have to talk to new people to extend our circle. But, the first lesson of not talking always stuck. So I pushed myself to talk to others but maintain a distance, not readily trust them. For someone who fails to connect with people on most levels, it is not very easy either, to trust. At one point it becomes physically impossible.

The quality of humans that sets us apart from other species is that of empathy. A society is built on the basis of common empathy and mutual respect. This creates an environment of collective growth and sustains the civilization. But the belief that every human is born with this is not always true. I know I can never really feel the other person's suffering, never really put myself in his/her place and endure. I can understand and provide solutions but I can never really generate or create an environment to generate real emotions! It takes extreme situations to move me on an emotional level.

Nevertheless, for a future filled with nothing but human interactions and deeper understanding of a society, it becomes imperative to push one's limits and explore the world in the shadows. I have forever been scared of being in the open, of being completely known. Because I fear of failing, faltering, being influenced by emotions on the path that I set for myself, and this is not acceptable to me. I do not wish to spend time in the luxuries of personal knowledge when I have miles to go. I cannot stop to think and analyse issues that I face in the confines of my ever active brain. There is but one simple reason that I have found for this.

Because, I cannot. I cannot feel bad when I listen to a sad story. I immediately analyse it and come up with solutions or think about how I will not allow it to happen at all the next time. I cannot smile at every person I meet and actually mean it. It is not that I want to be an unapproachable snob but it is just physically impossible for me. Whatever may have been the reason for this complicated thinking process, it is a part of me now. And when you push me, I get uncomfortable, I feel vulnerable and it is not a feeling that I am very fond of.

One of the many things that is common to every successful leader is the connect he/she had with the people. A sense of being, trust and empathy. I understand that this is extremely important in a school setting where the kids will pick up everything you say/don't say, you do/don't do and hence, I have to firmly push myself out of the comfort zone. Not because I want to but because I have to and may be during the process, I will want to. Because without this aspect, I may not achieve what I have set out for. But until I do gain that, I have to be careful and use silence as a guard against regrettable actions!

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