Have you ever listened to a piece of music in a language you do not understand, yet are profoundly moved?

One does need to understand Spanish, to comprehend the suffering that the children separated from their parents at the US Mexican border are facing. One does not need to understand Arabic, to recognize the plight that the mothers who lost their children peacefully protesting in Gaza are experiencing.

We are able to convey emotions beyond the literal meaning of words. There are universal signs for sadness expressed through tone, pitch, delicate stuttering, or the sniffling of the nose after a cry.

Just like instrumental music, there are signals in everyday speech that convey a universal meaning. Listening a bit more and not just merely disregarding a voice because we cannot understand the language, might induce just that much more empathy that can make all the difference in this sometimes cruel world.