8,223,054,437 ... and 438 ... and 436 .. .441.. ..442. The number keeps rising, falling, rapidly; births, deaths, new life sprouting simultaneously with lost souls leaving this earthly realm shrouded in darkness one final time.

I am just a mere 'one'. I am only one meek voice against tidal waves of stronger, heavier sounds, voices and feelings! What if you didn't stand alone? When you fall, do you have someone, anyone to fall back on? Anyone out of the 8,223,054,437 grey figures, the ones you see every day. Our friends that fill us with joy, our families that make us hold onto trust, strangers, teachers, even enemies ... I am surrounded by my own greyness, a void that can only be filled by my people.

Cue my teacher, handing me her jacket when I forgot mine in the rush of the morning, knowing I'd be cold. Lilac. My closest friend picks me up from where I lay, dazed with an angry scar forming on my knee. Yellow. My Mum asking me how I'm feeling after failing my test. Pink. My so-called enemy, sending me an apology text, saying in that moment he didn't understand how that made me feel. Aqua. One by one, colours arise, lifting the grey heavy clouds from my mind. The world doesn't look so bleak anymore.

This is a little thing called empathy ... Or maybe not so little.

Out of all the people on this Earth, being empathetic is core to our human needs. Because we are not robots, and we have the strongest emotions in any living being. Ugly fat tear sobbing ones, joyous cartwheel evoking ones, rage filled blood boiling ones. We have all these special feelings because. We.Are. Human.

Picture your world, like mine, the one that you've been living - in your own bubble, the one you've focused on your entire life. It could be at its all-time high, the pinnacle of success, the greatest it has ever been. But you are hyper aware that your shiny spectacular life can be changed in an instant, with the slamming of a door, a harsh word spoken, the fleeting flap of a butterfly's wing. The ebb and flow of reality.

Does anyone care? Or does anyone cheer you on? Does anyone see you, really see you, and wonder if you are going through a whirlwind of emotions and need help or just to be heard? Listening, no judgement, caring, supportive.

And to think, this is just our little bubble. Can you even start to think of empathy on a worldly basis? Are you able to feel sorry for those displaced by political horror and devastation? Can you feel for that young child, alone and hungry, living in filth, probably for the rest of his life? Imagine that poor single mother who just lost her child, an emptiness creating a hollow void in her heart.

In order to have essential human connection, to share emotions with strangers outside our circle and beyond, we need, crave, deserve and desire empathy from others. If we do this, beautiful things will occur- a true understanding of those around us, networking on a deeper level, an openness to other's opinions, despite them perhaps not aligning with our own.

The world is bigger than all of us, but it is also up to us to make greater and more meaningful connections with our fellow humans. As small and fragile as we are, as humble as we may be - EMPATHY is what matters - we must learn to walk in each other's shoes.

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Eva’s words offer more than just insight — they offer a challenge. A challenge to each of us, no matter our age, to notice the “grey” in those around us and to be the colour that lifts it. In our classrooms, our playgrounds, our staffrooms, and our homes, let’s keep finding ways to be gentle, learn, and listen. Because as Eva reminds us so beautifully: empathy isn’t little at all — it’s what matters most.

Mr Casimir Douglas

Tuesday 27th May, 2025