Sunday, June 12, 2016

YOU BRING ALL OF YOU TO THE WORD 'EMPATHY'






Two young girls, apparently students with their books and laptops open on the table, were arguing about the words empathy and sympathy. Apparently working on a lesson. Fortunately, the coffee shop was half empty as it was quite early for the usual coffee habitue's preferred hour. I was sitting at a table next to them with my usual favorite drink waiting for my daughter to finish with her errands inside the mall. So their voices riding on a pitch higher was no bother at all.
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Girl 1: "Use the word sympathy cos it's more personal'"
Girl 2: "Can't empathy mean the same thing?"


Well, I didn't wait to listen to how they resolved their problem in the end because I chose to turn off my radar at that particular point and focused on my green tea frappe. But those girls made me think.....
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Empathy. Sympathy. Easily one can get their meaning from a good dictionary. No big deal. Mr. Webster can help clear you through a hump down the grammar road.
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Let's not talk about grammar here though. "English is not our first language. But we do have a fair understanding of the language..... thanks to our exposure to it via the printed word, the movies, the media, and the Western world." So says a good friend. So there!
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If you would ask me, I like the word empathy. Why? It seems to me to have a much deeper connection and conviction. It's like all that you are is contained in that word. When you empathize you bring with it your own experiences, your own deep sentiments, your real understanding into that particular situation which another person is going through.
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You know what it is like; you've 'been there-done that'. So then you can understand better. As your own stack of wisdom and ability to connect expands and grows, is heightened, by another person's own set of dire experiences, you learn to respond with genuine care and concern. You see more, listen more, feel more, understand more, connect more, and act better. Or pray better.
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Then it even grows bigger to embrace all of nature, all living creatures, the vast universe, all of humanity, and the world.
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This quote (on empathy) sums it beautifully.....
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"She did not talk to people as if they were strange hard shells she had to crack open to get inside. She talked as if she were already in the shell. In their very shell." ----- Marita Bonner, "Nothing New" (1926), Frye Street and Environs (1987)
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You bring all of you, who-you-are and what-you-are, into the word empathy. So whenever you say "I understand." It's real because you truly do!
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Enjoy your Sunday, folks! God put in there blessings just for you.



4 comments:

  1. Nice analysis.I believe one can empathize even without experiencing the situation personally.Sympathy would mean pitying with someone in trouble,being compassionate and perhaps praying for them.Empathy is somewhat a more intense feeling of someone who puts oneself in that situation and identifies with and mentally experiencing someone's trials.Empathy is something more than throwing a coin in sympathy into the beggar's hat.

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    1. Oh it's not all about experiencing the situation per se. It's more like drawing down deep into the core of your being, experience, and insight to respond better to another's pain. That isn't always a common thing for most people who are more inclined to deal with fellow human beings with skin-deep responses. Probably the price we pay for modern living. Sympathy, as most would regard it, would fall in that category.

      Thanks, KP, for sharing your insights on the subject. Appreciating it truly every time you do.

      Best regards to you and your family. God bless!

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  2. Such a lovely and inspiring post. Thank you so much for sharing. God bless you.

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    1. Welcome to my blog, Linda! It's a pleasure and delight to see you here. Thank you for your visit.

      Been to your blog, too, and enjoyed cruising down your page. http://wrensden.blogspot.com/

      Take care. Blessings to you and your family.

      Delete

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