Steinbeck & Empathy

Last month I decided, on a whim, to pick up “Cannery Row” by John Steinbeck. I left the place too soon and immediately felt nostalgic for each and every person I had met. Steinbeck's greatest gift is his empathy. There isn't one stereotype, judged because of a singular deficiency in attitude or physicality, or even fashion. If a fellow character doesn't know the truth about his neighbor, we know, as readers, and God willing we remember the lesson long after the bookmark has been returned to the deck of cards, and we're stranded at the checkout lane, resenting strangers ahead of us.

I am not omniscient. But a book like “Cannery Row”, written by a humanist like Steinbeck, imbues me with similar powers. It is up to me, as some plain gridlocked human being, to apply them to my life. I'm talking about empathy, the ability to understand that I can never fully understand the grumpy asshole wasting ten more minutes of my day. In the same vein, he can never fully understand me. Unless we are stranded for good and the only thing left to pass eternity is to share our life stories, we will never see each other in three dimensions. It is as disheartening as it is irrational, and it is probably the biggest lesson I have taken from my reading life.

We can never fully understand. That doesn't mean we shouldn't try, at least.

My day job is at the local grocery store, where I am forced into social interactions of every variety. Being shy and inward, I have two options: I can stand there awkwardly, face steaming as the hour-long seconds drag by; or I can fully engage with customers, most of whom are friendly and warm. A ten to twenty second conversation can't yield a revelation. But it is still empathy in practice, the conscious sacrifice of ego – even if I had no choice but to hand it over for my job.

At the risk of being hyperbolic (or is it too romantic?), my day job would be all the more difficult if I wasn't a constant reader. I see real people in characters, characters in real life. I read to understand motivation, and I listen and engage, tuning into some shared wavelength.