Good Day Brewers - Pang here! ☕

September is about to end!

Time flies!

We’re almost down to the last quarter of this year!

What’s the most memorable story you’ve read so far this year?

Send them to my inbox!

I promise to check every single one of them (even if they land in my junk)! 😉

Meanwhile… Something terrible is brewing…

Estimated reading time: 1,467 words - 5 mins 20 secs

A Terrible Kindness

It was the end of my last paper for my semester. I was looking forward to the weekly board game sessions with my friends that evening.

As I exited the train station and turned onto a path with high foot traffic towards the bus stop…

I spotted a young child, about the age of seven, sitting on the sidewalk.

Tanned. Brown eyes.

Her long black hair shimmered under the orange ball of fiery that was setting across the horizon.

She is wearing a cute pink shirt with a splash of rainbow on it. The brown stains and visible holes in her ragged shirt made her look like a poor, homeless orphan.

A rusty bronze tin was placed right in front of her.

It appeared as if she was begging.

But was that indeed the case?

After all, her usual behavior didn't align with the customary actions of beggars—like clasping their palms together and bowing at a sincere 75-degree angle to request their next meal.

I look to the left.

Nothing was hanging out of her sleeves.

Look to the right.

Nothing either.

My eyes must be tired from solving those statistical problems earlier.

Blink a couple of times.

Still nothing.

And then a sudden realization hit me.

WHERE ARE HER ARMS?

A poor, helpless, and probably homeless handicapped child sitting on the sidewalk of a path with high foot traffic.

Sadly, no one even cared. Not even the men wearing the fanciest suits, or the ladies donning the most elegant dresses.

Passerbys just zoomed past her as if she was invisible without even batting an eyelid.

Did anyone even notice her?

A whole bunch of questions were running through my mind as I got absorbed into my thoughts.

• Where is her parents?

• Why is she alone all by herself?

• Did she even have a place to stay?

The roaring engines of the approaching bus pulled me back into reality.

But I couldn’t just let myself walk away from this.

I could not brush away what I just saw like how I would when a credit card salesman approached me.

So, I turned my back and headed in her direction.

“Hey! You here all by yourself?” I asked.

She nodded, looking up at me with her bloodshot eyes.

“Where’s your papa and mama?” I continued, letting my curiosity guide me.

This time, she looked away from me. I could feel that uneasiness sinking in.

I must have made her feel uncomfortable. I should stop pressing for answers.

I reached deep into my wallet to fish out a $10 bill, a little hesitant.

That was the money I saved for the upcoming bowling session with my friends.

But she needed it more than I did.

So, I gently placed that note inside the tin and headed back to the bus stop.

As I turned my head to have one last look at her…

I was shocked.

A lady wearing sunglasses with a cap boring the Nike logo showed up out of nowhere.

She bent down to pick up the bronze tin in front of the girl…

Before grabbing onto her ragged shirt and dragging her into the distance, squeezing through the packed-like-sardine crowd.

I gasped in shock and took a deep breath.

Before I could even exhale, both of them were out of sight.

Everything happened so quickly that I could barely make sense of the entire situation.

That night…

I was tossing and turning in bed.

I couldn't shake the feeling that I should have done more to help her.

Was that lady her mother?

But why was she so rough on her?

And why was she using her daughter to earn money through sympathy?

Something’s missing from the equation.

But at least she has a place to stay, I hope.

I’d sleep over this incident and forget about it.

A few days later…

I was dragging my foot across the living room after getting out of bed.

I noticed my dad seated on the sofa, with his legs up high on the coffee table in front of him.

He looks absorbed in an article.

It must be something interesting.

My eyes started to wander across the words on the papers.

That’s when I saw the headlines:

“Beware of Syndicates Earning Your Sympathy!”

That flipped a switch within me as I recalled the incident that happened a few days earlier.

Turns out that the ploy of placing a handicapped child on a path with high foot traffic begging for money was simply a money-making scam.

They earned our sympathy by manipulating our greatest weakness and strength—our emotions.

And through that, they gained access to our pockets.

I can’t help but wonder if these kids were born perfectly normal.

Were their hands and legs amputated just to be used as money-making tools?

How is it possible that we’re of the same species, yet we have such extreme differences?

A wave of frustration washed through me as I tried to comprehend what had become of this fallen world.

But it gets worse.

It’s an act of terrible kindness.

The thought of funding the syndicates in their operations angers me.

I vowed to keep my wallets safe and tucked away.

Stay safe with your wallet, my friends.

Emotional Scams…

They are well-devised plans to manipulate and target human beings.

They’re the toughest to deal with.

Why?

Because they have to do with you as a person.

If you are someone who’s empathetic, you’ll fall prey to scams like this.

Just like I did.

I unknowingly opened up my wallet and supported a scam operation—all because I opened up my heart to the people (including strangers) around me.

But isn’t empathy supposed to be a good trait?

It’s supposed to be.

But not in this case where you’re being exploited for a natural human trait that you possess.

And if you’re falling to scams such as this…

There might be something good at the end of all this after all.

You have what it takes to be an INCREDIBLE storyteller!

The best storytellers are empathetic.

Otherwise, how do you think they’re able to evoke emotions within people?

Here are the four biggest benefits of having Empathy.

Benefit #1 - Understanding the Audience

Empathy allows you to tap into your audience’s emotions on a deeper level.

Just like the above example, I understand that this story would be relatable to you because of how rampant scams have been recently.

Almost everyone has either fallen victim to a scam or knows someone who has.

I understand the frustration and pain of being scammed (I’ve lost over $800 in another scam) but this story introduces a slightly more complex theme and I wanted to raise that awareness.

If you want to understand their pain points and struggles, you’ll have to put yourself in the shoes of your audience.

Feel every emotion and thought that’s going through their bones and brains as they encounter a roadblock.

Get into that mood and start writing.

This is one of the best ways to craft stories that evoke emotions that resonate with your audience.

Benefit #2 - Eliciting Emotion

To evoke emotions within you, I tap into my own experiences.

I shared my thoughts and feelings throughout the story to help you empathize and understand the situation.

I even used metaphors and dialogues to tap into your imagination (see if you can spot them above).

By digging a little deeper into your own emotions throughout the story, you’ll be able to share them with depth, while eliciting emotions.

Benefit #3 - Exploring Universal Themes

Most universal storytelling themes revolve around emotions.

The fear of failure.

The loss of a loved one.

The hope of overcoming your struggles as an underdog.

And this story involves a terrible lesson to be remembered—I don’t want to be funding scammy operations.

By learning to empathize, you’ll be able to easily delve into stories with these themes to bring out the best in them!

Benefit #4 - Establishing Connections

Empathy is the key ingredient to building deeper relationships with people.

In this case, empathy helped me to discover the angle at which I intend to deliver my story—with a little deep delve into it.

This allowed me to establish a stronger connection between us.

Did this story bring back memories of something that happened to you in the past?

Empathy allows you to bring your raw feelings, experiences, and vulnerabilities to the table with less fear of judgment but more focus on delivering an impactful story—one that resonates and sings with the heart.

But Pang, how do I be more empathetic?

You’ll find out when a fresh new story drops into your inbox next Friday! 😉

While being empathetic is cool…

It also opens you up to vulnerability.

It’s easier for others to prey on your feelings and devour them, as they suck you into this black hole.

Be careful.

Empathize. But always be vigilant.

I’ll see you in the next one.

Your Barista,

Pang

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