There’s a short animation video that’s gone viral lately, titled “The Life of an Empath.”
In it, we see an all-white figure as he goes about his day, encountering others who are experiencing some sort of trauma. All of these people have a portion of their bodies colored black — a darkness that is absorbed by the empath as he comforts them.
By the end of his journey, each of the people left behind feels better, but the empath returns home filled entirely in ebony.
That is, until he hugs his dog, and the gloom falls from them both.
Start to finish, it runs only about 45 seconds, but offers a pretty cool example of what it means to be an empath — something that can be very difficult to explain in words.
Put simply: It’s hard.
My empathic heart bleeds for animals, in particular. An animal suffering will send me into a tailspin, mar my mindset for days or weeks or months, unable to put the idea or the image out of my head.
The world can be a brutal place for animal empaths, because it’s so often a brutal place for animals — examples of mistreatment are literally everywhere. From tourism, to the food industry, on the internet and our daily walks. It’s amazing how many times your heart can break in an hour.
But, given the state of our existence, it’s a challenging time for those who care deeply about people, too.
It seems like not a day goes by that there isn’t some instance of injustice, some headline that screams of intolerance and lack of understanding.
Obviously, feeling the pain of those involved isn’t tantamount to experiencing it — no one is suggesting that. But for empaths, it’s nearly impossible not to be tormented by what it must be like, what you can do to help, what will happen if you look away rather than taking it in and processing it with your soul.
So there’s your own stuff, and all that other stuff, too, keeping a Kung Fu grip on your brain.
I can tell you, sometimes it isn’t pretty. For the empath — and, I imagine, and the folks who love them.
But I promise, we appreciate the support.
As a person who often obsesses over a wrong to the point of ill-health — I have legit worried myself to puking over the way some people treat their pets — I would like to send up a small request:
Check on your empaths today. The world can be ruthless, perhaps now more than usual, and sometimes we are not OK.
Hear them out. Offer thoughtful suggestions, if there are any. Refrain from ever using the phrase, “You need to just let it go.”
Buy them a non-dairy, ethically sourced frozen dessert from a small business that supports civil rights, doesn’t serve straws, pays a fair wage and donates to honest charities.
Be the dog in that video.
And be nice to dogs. Please.
Thank you for listening.
Katie McDowell is a copy editor/lifestyles writer for The Dominion Post. Email kmcdowell@dominionpost.com.
