Empathy...

Empathy is the capacity to recognise or understand another's state of mind or emotion. It is the ability to "put oneself into another's shoes", or to in some way experience the outlook or emotions of another being within oneself. It may be described metaphorically as an emotional kind of resonance or mirroring.

Empathy is, at first a simple instictual capacity to resonate. Since birth, us humans have been able to resonate with other human beings. When a newborn cries, in the presence of other newborns, they all cry. This is the instictual capacity. As we grow and learn we develop the capacity to understand other people's feelings, and points of views to identify with them.

If our capacity for empathy does not develop sufficiently we will be lost. We need to have the balance. If we are insensitive to the emotions of others our relationships become a complete charade. Each person is a living being, and we must remember not to treat them as things, and impose our ways of dealing with grief, or loss, or pain. If we do that, I have learned we violate them, or even manipulate without even knowing. We are not walking in their shoes. When we are able to step out of our selves and enter into the lives of others with our empathy fully developed our existence is immeasurably more richer and varied. Our relationships now become a source of interest, a source of emotional and spiritual nourishment.

A new view of ourselves. However vast we believe our inner world may be...it is still our inner world, a closed system. I believe narrow, doubting, questioning...closed. Our thoughts, worries, desires...is that all that there is? I ask myself that, and sometimes it seems so.

But to step out of this world--your own world and enter other ones--the passions, fear, love, struggles, hopes, and suffering of other human beings is like taking an interplanetary voyage...but much simpler to accomplish. Closing ourselves to others makes us imbalanced, not feeling the emotions of others who surround us and only feeling our world...makes us closed. I have been closed as of lately...for self preservation...and basically self attention--self focus if you may. It coorelates within me a deeper dive into just me...and sadness and anxiety. When we participate and even by just listening to their needs, fears, pain and sorrow..participating in their lives it helps all of us to live.

Empathy is the best means of improving any relationship. Understanding someones situation, walking in their shoes however painful helps bring relief and conentment to another person. I think it is a validation. When at last people are able to understand that someone identifies with their experience, they are able to let go of thier suffering and begin to heal. To me I understand something that I didn't yesterday...that suffering individuals do not need diagnosis, advice, intrepretations..or manipulations...they need genuine and total empathy.