Grounds for Connection

Though not always made clear in definition, empathy is one of the most important human emotions one can feel. Empathy, in all its obscurity is the glue that holds human societies together. It is our ability to feel or relate to another that allows us to see past all the differences our world tries to force onto us. We find that some of our strongest bonds are not found in those that have a similar physical appearance to us but those that share a back story that is close to ours. Upon realizing that someone is of mixed race, I feel an immediate connection. Whether they grew up in cultures different than mine, I know that they probably know my same struggle for identity or can help me find clarification in it. It is the knowing, the feeling, the recognition of the emotional ups and downs of those around us that allow us to truly find solace that we are not alone. We may feel by ourselves but knowing that others have gone through or are going through our same struggles helps us to realize that we are all humans with imperfect lives. In recognizing that the turmoils may differ but pull out emothion the same, we recognize the greater world around us that encompasses a universe of emotion all the same. Though no single person outside of ourselveshas experienced every challenge and moment of downfall tha we have, there is something to be said to those able to grapple on to a single moment in our lives and tell ua that it will be okay because they have experienced something the same. To get caught up in the exact predicaments and emotional reactions matching up or not would be to deny humanity ones of its strongest hopes for true connection.