I typically avoid commenting on anything terribly controversial as I believe that the way people learn is by listening to both sides of the story and not being quick to judge, however with recent events in our country I must speak out.
If you haven't heard, a police officer in Miami recently shot at a man with Autism outside of the group home he lived at. As I have just began my career as a music therapist and have an Autism Spectrum Disorder myself I feel that America has become overly judgmental and it needs to stop.
In a world where we are surrounded by technology and are able to get everything now we as a society need to remember one of life's great virtues. That virtue being patience.
This ties into empathy and being able to put yourself in someone else's shoes. I feel that being on the spectrum gives me an extra dose of empathy because it took literally years before I discovered it and was able to connect to others. With this I also learned patience and I hope that when people took the time to be my friend and learn about me they learned patience as well.
Take the time to learn what someone is feeling, listen to their story or why they are feeling that way, and ask if you can do anything to help that person. This is the foundations of empathy and being able to develop a positive relationship with someone successfully.
After seeing all the stories in the news I think the tying factor between all of them is being too quick to assume that something bad is happening and acting before asking. When you act before you ask you make mistakes. It is impulse control, cause and effect, whatever you may want to label it.
Even if you don't agree with someone that doesn't mean you can not be their friend or kind toward them. Being different is what makes life interesting. Learning about what others care about and taking interest in them makes relationships last. Taking time to talk and connect shows others you care.
As an individual who is very observant and reluctant to interact frequently I am going to take my move to a new city and a new job as an opportunity to show people that communicating in person and learning about each other is not a bad or scary thing. Be kind to one another.
