A powerful metaphor from a long hike:
Every hiker is intimately aware of their backpack. They picked it out, choosing from dozens of options. They know which straps are loose and which are digging into their skin. They can tell you if it’s lopsided, and what is in each pocket.
And yet…
Even after days on the trail, they probably couldn’t tell you a thing about anyone else’s backpack. Except, perhaps, that everyone else has one.
That’s the first step toward empathy: Realizing that everyone else has a backpack, and that it’s different from yours.