Empathy is an important part of the human experience. When we empathize, we connect with others, feel what they feel, understand others, love, and feel loved. People want to be heard and understood, even if their views differ from another person's. There was a time when families had a dialogue. Thoughts, ideas, and beliefs were shared face to face, without concern for judgment. Today we live in a world where access to information is at the click of a mouse. Hidden in anonymity behind a computer screen, we can lose the ability to communicate effectively with other human beings. Sometimes this anonymity makes us bolder in our conversations and less concerned about the opinions, feelings, and perspectives of others. Does someone else's opinion really matter? Do we really care what other people think? Is the way we perceive another person distorted when we fail to empathize? These are some of the questions we need to ask ourselves to determine if we are an effective empath. The willingness to listen and understand another person's thoughts enriches our lives and makes us a better person and a contributor to the advancement of the human family. Learning to empathize is the key to understanding and becoming an active listener. Without empathy as a part of our communication skills, our thinking will be short and narrow. Experts say our brains are wired to connect. Author Daniel Coleman, in the book Social Intelligence The New Science of Human Relationships, writes: "Neuroscience has discovered that the very design of our brain makes it sociable, drawn inexorably into an intimate brain-to-brain connection whenever we we interact with another person" (Col. ...... middle of paper ...... can communicate with each other from opposite sides of the planet with the click of a mouse. What does hasn't changed since the dawn of time, it's the need to be heard and We, as human beings, are empathetic by nature All the infrastructure is in place but the skills needed to be a good one. listener and process information into understanding requires time to care about what others think heard and validated as a member of our human family We cannot look at another person and, because of the way they. speaks, dresses or, more importantly, thinks, putting aside feelings and thoughts. This is our time on this planet to make a difference in the world. the life of each person we meet and invite into the circles of our lives. Empathy is the key that opens the door to understanding and closes the door to hatred and short-term thinking.