HOPELESS STATE OF EMPATHY IN MODERN SOCIETY

 

BUILDING BETTER HABITS

A hopeless young woman empathizing with her situation in society/Credit/Liza Summer

Hopelessness

Modern society is struggling. It is struggling with several other problems in addition to hopelessness. Life is happening, and in the process of taking its course, life is bringing up issues. Issues that require deeper and wider conversations. A lot of things can divide people in modern society. But there are also problems, which unite people. Serious problems that require attention. Attention not only from relevant authorities but also from ordinary people. Hopelessness is well known. It is common name is depression. And we are just different people altogether. We face our challenges differently. For some people, challenges become overwhelming. They overpower them. And they lose control. They get lost. So, depression finds a home in their mind. People become hopeless. They lose the meaning of life. They struggle.

Hopelessness is a heavy burden. A burden that gets someone to lose meaning in life. There is no way you are going to make it. You just cannot see a way out. The challenges you have been facing are just too heavy. All the energy is gone. And you are not fighting anymore. And you are hoping no more. You have surrendered. You want life to do as it wish with you. You are ready for anything. You have used all your energy. Your once prosperous career is no more. You have tried everything you know. Your resources are now depleted and you don’t know what to do anymore. Life has become bitter. You have given up. And you are even ready to bid life goodbye. This is what hopelessness does to people. It makes people helpless, and desperate.

Real-Life Scenario

And now, we have a man who has lost hope. Life has been unkind to him. He must have run out of his resources. And he can no longer afford his needs. The man is wandering around in the community. He looks unkempt. His clothes are not only dirty but also the same clothes he has been wearing for several months. He has no home. So he sleeps on the veranda of a church. He has been sleeping there for several months now. The church he sleeps on its porch is active. Its members show up every now and then during the week. The church holds a Sunday service every Sunday. But the man has been sleeping on that veranda for several months now. There is everyone in that community. A small production company, residential homes, and another church on the right. And there is also a road.

People see him every day. Yet the somehow homeless man, has remained unseen for several months. The pastor of the church has not seen him. Members of the same church have not seen him. And passersby have also not seen him. Yet, he sleeps on the veranda in a very visible spot. No one is talking to him. People are not asking questions. People are busy with their lives. As long as, their lives are on course; everything else is irrelevant. The homeless man does not matter. The man is going through something. And he is screaming for help by sitting or sleeping on a church’s porch. However, help is not forthcoming. No one is talking. People have chosen to see nothing and say nothing. But the man is at the right place. Sleeping at a church’s door. Hoping that someone will see him. And maybe, talk to him.

But the church has not responded. The next church has not responded. And people passing near him, have not also responded. Yet the homeless man is in public space. Our empathy is on a test. The world is on a test. The issues that the homeless man is going through are the very issues why churches exist in society. The man has lost hope. The burdens have become too heavy for him. He has run out of energy. Challenges have become too much. Now he has no home. He is sleeping outside in the cold. And three churches around him cannot help him. Several months have passed now. And he is still there. Wearing the same clothes. Looking unkempt. Drowned in his own thoughts. And sometimes smoking cigar. Society’s empathy is sick. People have run out of empathy. The church too, has run out of empathy.

A man is suffering as everyone watches. There is no way that the pastor of the church is not aware of this man. The church has failed the homeless man. The three churches are sleeping on their core missions to the community. The community has problems. But the church has no solution.  If an organization operates in a community, it is supposed to know the problems of that community. But not these three churches. There is some kind of lethargy in modern society. Institutions and people are gradually becoming tired. They are unresponsive to critical issues that need immediate solutions or some level of swiftness. The lack of empathy is for sure devastating. It seems like something is robbing modern society of its soul. Its consciousness. Its urgency. Its meaning. Churches acting against the world. An insensitive church on a mission.  

What Have You Become?

The homeless man might not even be looking for help. His expectations could be different. Perhaps, he is just there to ease pressure. He sees the church as a safe space. The man could be sleeping on the church’s veranda because he feels safe there. Maybe, the church is a sanctuary to him. And he is not looking for anything else. However, we cannot escape the fact that there is something else going on with the man. He could really use some help. He could really use some prayer. He could really use some spiritual guidance. Perhaps a word from the Bible could restore his faith. Perhaps, he could find strength from a little help to start fighting his battles again. Some little love could get him on his feet. He could use other people’s kindness to rebuild again. The hopes of other people could be the motivation he has been missing in his life.

We need to reexamine ourselves as occupants of modern society. We need to understand what is robbing us from empathy. We need to know why we are not helping. We need to know why we are hesitant. The hopelessness cannot continue. Modern society needs to change. People in modern society who are you and me, need to change. You need to grow your level of empathy. You need to reexamine yourself. You need to reflect. You need to know yourself. You need to evaluate your values. You need to know what you stand for in life. I know there are selfish people in modern society. But not everyone is selfish. Not everyone is consumed in his/her own needs and pleasures. You have a soul. I have a soul. Let us start being human beings again. Let us be human beings who see, hear, touch, and act. I will start seeing. I will start acting. You too, start acting. start seeing.

Respond to some needs in your environment. Don’t wait for the other person to act first. Take initiative. Find out what is going on. Help where you can. Become sensitive a little bit. Teach modern society some kindness. Start restoring hope. Help a brother out. Help lift a burden from an overburdened person. Just try and unburden someone. A homeless man is not asking for much. He just need some love. Some random acts of compassion. Some small initiatives, which can help him get back to his life. Some sobering talk that reminds him to never give up. A small reminder that there is someone up there who cares. And that he can talk to that person. He can tell someone up there, his pains and frustrations. I strongly believe that you can do this. You can talk to someone in need. You can help someone in need. You can pray for someone in need. I know it is not your business, but you can try. Forget about you for a moment. And do something for someone else. Let us put meaning to life. Let us put love to action. Grow your compassion.