I've always been empathetic, but I used to overlook other people's inner lives, especially strangers. I think it's partly because I'm a pretty solitary person. But I've read tons of romance novels in the past few years, which are highly focused on character development. It's considered good writing in the genre for characters to have real flaws. So, I read all these books about people who are nothing like me or anyone I've ever cared about, sometimes people I wouldn't expect to like. But a romance novel is always about people seeing the best in each other, and the plots are always structured to make you want to see them find happiness. And I started feeling that way about everyone in the real world. Also, I read a lot of historical fiction, and it really blows my mind now to look at old photos and art and imagine all of those creators or portrait subjects having equally complex inner lives.