My hero Lola is a highly emphatic person who finds that, in her fictional world, her empathy is a pathway to telepathy. In the reality in which you and I live (we do live in the same reality, right?) empathy may only be a pathway to becoming a happier and kinder human. That’s enough incentive for me.

But how does one become more empathic? Consider checking out this article on Six Habits of Highly Empathic People by Roman Krznaric. There are real things one can do. My personal favorite? Experiential empathy.  Walk a mile, or ten, in another person’s shoes and discover just how hard it is to criticize, much less hate. Of course, if the shoes look like these, it may also be hard for some of us even to walk…..