Wow. This is so rich Kristina. I've started posts on the difference between compassion and empathy so many times...and now I can leave it. And I can just share this one. Because you said it perfectly. It's such a huge differentiation. And until we actually learn to feel ourselves, to truly face ourselves from the inside, with our confusions and beliefs and contradictions, then I'm not sure its possible to have empathy for another. Because it seems to requires a certain detachment to our idea of a separate "self." As long as we see another as an "other," we're missing the mark. The moment we join, we become a new entity, sharing an experience together. Then, empathy is a naturally emerging energy (or feeling). We can literally feel the other as if we are one. Anyway, I'm kind of blown away on how much wisdom you've sprinkled like fairy dust in just one post. May fellow readers chew on this s...l...o...w...l...y... -Adrienne
To aptly quote MLK: "Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection."
Wow. This is so rich Kristina. I've started posts on the difference between compassion and empathy so many times...and now I can leave it. And I can just share this one. Because you said it perfectly. It's such a huge differentiation. And until we actually learn to feel ourselves, to truly face ourselves from the inside, with our confusions and beliefs and contradictions, then I'm not sure its possible to have empathy for another. Because it seems to requires a certain detachment to our idea of a separate "self." As long as we see another as an "other," we're missing the mark. The moment we join, we become a new entity, sharing an experience together. Then, empathy is a naturally emerging energy (or feeling). We can literally feel the other as if we are one. Anyway, I'm kind of blown away on how much wisdom you've sprinkled like fairy dust in just one post. May fellow readers chew on this s...l...o...w...l...y... -Adrienne
To aptly quote MLK: "Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection."