It seems like the polar opposite of empathy may be judgement. There’s plenty of that! People love to judge. They love to think that they know something. Well, you don’t. Read up on some Socrates, for example. We each *know* very little, relatively speaking. We may hypothesize! We may guess! We may believe! But knowing is something different. And few people take the time to do what it takes to know anything.
So, when you hear yourself talking, when you actually notice, it is likely that you are spouting nonsense. Most of what people say is unnecessary and in effect counterproductive and damaging, because that time and effort and energy could have been spent reflecting on things, imagining a better future, doing something concretely productive and beneficial for others. Instead, we talk and judge and pronounce and just eat up time.
