Thread by @shakiratgold

Empathy
1: the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner

2: the imaginative projection of a subjective state into an object so that the object appears to be infused with it

As defined by the Merriam Webster's dictionary.

Something a lot of Nigerians are grossly lacking.

And because it is deficient in a lot of people, we often spew words and statements that are deserving of 'ifoti oloyi'.
Statements that are better left in the cerebral cortex without ever making it's way to the pathway that connects to the buccal cavity.

As a rule, if your statement is not going to change anything or make it better....please keep it to yourself.

Someone has just lost a spouse and because that spouse had a chronic illness....all you can say is 'At least now he's no longer here and the stress is gone'.

Or someone lost a child perhaps because she wasn't paying adequate attention then...and all you can say is 'Eyin na, why were you not watching the child? Epele ma'.

How insensitive can we be? Have you ever heard the saying ' We all look intelligent until we open our mouths?'.

Do not let your mouth be the evidence of your stupidity.

If you cannot make it better....please don't contribute to another person's pain with your words or your actions. Be sensitive. Be empathetic.

If only we could all be kind, the world would be a far better place...