I want to start this by making it crystal clear that this is not an attack on anyone, and that I am simply questioning behaviours, for my own curiosity, and for the curiosity of others who share my type of awareness. I am trying to understand myself by understanding others, who in reality, are a mirror of myself. I also want to send a message, to those who are willing to listen...
Sorry if this comes off as insensitive...it is not the intention...just questioning is all
People are drawn to tragedy. People seem to be drawn to other peoples pain and loss. I understand compassion, and I understand sympathy and empathy. I understand that compassion is a rarity in this day and age, and I understand that sympathy and empathy are more common.
Let’s look at these three words and my understanding of their meanings: compassion, sympathy and empathy.
Let’s start with Sympathy and Empathy, what is the difference? Well, sympathy, simply put, is the feeling of pity or sorrow for another's misfortune, the feeling doesn't go much further from there, it simply stops at “I am sorry for your loss” type thing.
Empathy goes a step further, where as a person who is empathetic will not only feel pity or sorrow for a person's plight, but they will also feel what the other person is feeling, usually because the person feeling the empathy has been through the same or similar situation, or because the empathetic person has a deeper awareness and opening to the feelings of others (whether it be for human life, animal life, plant life, etc).
What is the purpose of showing sympathy or empathy? Is it to merely show those who are paying attention to you that you appear to care? Is it because you are trying to draw attention to yourself? Is it to show that you appear to be sensitive to the pain of others? What if sympathy is only adding to the persons or peoples negative situation? What if empathy only amplifies the plight and also creates an opening for sickness or disease in yourself? What if, sympathy and empathy were actually propagating the negative feelings and emotions in any given tragedy or catastrophe? Why do we as humans flock to tragedy? I think this behaviour is even more obvious now because of social networking tools such as Facebook and Twitter.
The moment an event that a person deems to be tragic occurs, the person adds a comment or a status update offering his or her condolences, even if the person has nothing to do with the tragedy and knows no one connected to the tragedy that occurred. What does this accomplish exactly?
Here is an example/question: How come, a Canadian in Canada has the urge to offer condolences for a tragedy that occurred in the US, but when a similar tragedy occurs in lets say, Pakistan, the Canadian has no urge to offer the same sympathy? Is it because the Canadian is physically closer to the US? Or is it because the Canadian only watches or hears news of North American events? Is it because the Canadian thinks that American and Canadian life is more precious than the lives of others around the globe? I am dumbfounded.
Is the purpose of your sympathy merely to show others that you care or that you are capable of feeling sympathetic? How does this behaviour help or improve the tragic situation? Please, if you can provide me with a logical explanation to these questions, I am eager to listen and possibly learn something that I have not yet been able to wrap my heart/mind around.
Now, what about compassion? What is compassion exactly? Simply put, compassion is the feeling of unconditional love towards situations of misfortune or tragic events accompanied by a feeling of unquestioned determination to try to alleviate the situation or to make the situation better. Compassionate beings usually go completely out of their way to help others, without expecting any recognition or attention from their compassionate behaviour. Compassion is not accompanied by a feeling of pity, and is fully based on positive thoughts and feelings of love. A compassionate person does not help others because he feels bad for them, he helps because he loves them, and see’s himself in everything. He wants all to be treated as he wishes to be treated. A high self respect and self reverence translates into the high respect and reverence for all things.
My understanding of this lack of real compassion and for the sympathetic and empathetic behaviour has taken a slight turn for the bitter, especially after the tragedy of what happened yesterday at that elementary school....I more or less understand fully that men have produced a society filled with extreme narcissism, a population filled with ego maniacs who have a hard time understanding the difference between real compassion, and bullshit.
Compassion is not reserved for a specific country or culture. It is not reserved for a specific type of person, a specific ethnicity or a specific species of living beings. Compassion is not choosy, and is not prejudice.
Compassion surpasses all jugements, all pre conceptions. Compassion is non existent in the ego mind, and is a part of the soul itself. Compassion is infinite and undying. Compassion is fire and water. Compassion is darkness and light...Compassion is the creator and the created.
I urge all of you who read this with an open mind, to question your intention when it comes to showing sympathy or empathy. Question your behaviour and find out if you are capable of compassion. I have done this, and have been doing this, and it has led me to writing this and sharing it with you.
Whether you are American, Palestinian, Pakistani, Afghani, Canadian, British, Italian, Egyptian, German, Persian, Russian, Syrian Chinese, Bolivian, African, European, South American, Latino, Asian, Caucasian, Arab, Oak, Maple, Rose, Thorn Bush, Pacific Ocean, Olive Tree, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Duck, Dog, Cat, Cow, Crow, Seal, Fish, Penguin, Dolphin, Tiger, Lion, Cheetah, Elephant, Spider, Lizard, Guinea Hen, Pig, Horse, Chicken, Owl, Gay, Straight, Hippy, Muslim, New Ager, Atheist, Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, Jew, Fire, Water, Air, Rock, Earth, Soil, Man, Woman, Child, Mother, Father, Brother, Sister, Crippled, Blind, Deaf, Short, Tall, Skinny, Fat, Blond, Brunette, Redhead, Blue Eyed, Green Eyed, Brown Eyed, etc, etc, etc, etc....I do not care about who YOU are or what YOU are. I do not want to know your label, your physical traits, your language, your religion, your culture, or what you have labelled yourself, what the media has labelled you, what others have labelled you. I do not want to know why you think you are different than others, I do not want to hear your national anthem or your patriotism. I do not want to learn about your belief of separation or superiority or inferiority.
I want to send you my love, I want to show you that I am you, and that you are me. I want you to feel that regardless of who you think you are, or what you think you are, I feel that you deserve life. I feel that you deserve to be loved, and that you deserve to love. I feel that your life is precious, not more or less than anything or anyone elses life, but equally precious.
I want you to know, that I want to protect you, and will protect you if I can. I want you to know that regardless of your label, I believe your life is important and significant. I want you to know, that regardless of where you are in the world, I care about you, and believe that you deserve to live freely and without fear. No matter what religion you follow, or what culture you have embraced, I want you to feel that you are everything, and everything is you.
Maybe, just maybe, if compassion was the emotion that gripped this planet, rather than fear...tragedies like yesterday's tragedy would not have happened at all. Maybe, if compassion was taught to everyone, every child, and retaught to every adult...maybe there would be no murders across the planet....Maybe, prevention is teaching compassion. Maybe prevention lies in the education of open mindedness, acceptance, and the awareness of interconnectivity...Teach our children that we are all one, and that when you hurt another, you are hurting yourself. Teach our children that ALL life, including their own is extremely precious and has purpose.
Preventative measures accomplished through this type of education....The world needs to be released from the grip of fear and separation....
That is all.
With Love
SS
Sorry if this comes off as insensitive...it is not the intention...just questioning is all
People are drawn to tragedy. People seem to be drawn to other peoples pain and loss. I understand compassion, and I understand sympathy and empathy. I understand that compassion is a rarity in this day and age, and I understand that sympathy and empathy are more common.
Let’s look at these three words and my understanding of their meanings: compassion, sympathy and empathy.
Let’s start with Sympathy and Empathy, what is the difference? Well, sympathy, simply put, is the feeling of pity or sorrow for another's misfortune, the feeling doesn't go much further from there, it simply stops at “I am sorry for your loss” type thing.
Empathy goes a step further, where as a person who is empathetic will not only feel pity or sorrow for a person's plight, but they will also feel what the other person is feeling, usually because the person feeling the empathy has been through the same or similar situation, or because the empathetic person has a deeper awareness and opening to the feelings of others (whether it be for human life, animal life, plant life, etc).
What is the purpose of showing sympathy or empathy? Is it to merely show those who are paying attention to you that you appear to care? Is it because you are trying to draw attention to yourself? Is it to show that you appear to be sensitive to the pain of others? What if sympathy is only adding to the persons or peoples negative situation? What if empathy only amplifies the plight and also creates an opening for sickness or disease in yourself? What if, sympathy and empathy were actually propagating the negative feelings and emotions in any given tragedy or catastrophe? Why do we as humans flock to tragedy? I think this behaviour is even more obvious now because of social networking tools such as Facebook and Twitter.
The moment an event that a person deems to be tragic occurs, the person adds a comment or a status update offering his or her condolences, even if the person has nothing to do with the tragedy and knows no one connected to the tragedy that occurred. What does this accomplish exactly?
Here is an example/question: How come, a Canadian in Canada has the urge to offer condolences for a tragedy that occurred in the US, but when a similar tragedy occurs in lets say, Pakistan, the Canadian has no urge to offer the same sympathy? Is it because the Canadian is physically closer to the US? Or is it because the Canadian only watches or hears news of North American events? Is it because the Canadian thinks that American and Canadian life is more precious than the lives of others around the globe? I am dumbfounded.
Is the purpose of your sympathy merely to show others that you care or that you are capable of feeling sympathetic? How does this behaviour help or improve the tragic situation? Please, if you can provide me with a logical explanation to these questions, I am eager to listen and possibly learn something that I have not yet been able to wrap my heart/mind around.
Now, what about compassion? What is compassion exactly? Simply put, compassion is the feeling of unconditional love towards situations of misfortune or tragic events accompanied by a feeling of unquestioned determination to try to alleviate the situation or to make the situation better. Compassionate beings usually go completely out of their way to help others, without expecting any recognition or attention from their compassionate behaviour. Compassion is not accompanied by a feeling of pity, and is fully based on positive thoughts and feelings of love. A compassionate person does not help others because he feels bad for them, he helps because he loves them, and see’s himself in everything. He wants all to be treated as he wishes to be treated. A high self respect and self reverence translates into the high respect and reverence for all things.
My understanding of this lack of real compassion and for the sympathetic and empathetic behaviour has taken a slight turn for the bitter, especially after the tragedy of what happened yesterday at that elementary school....I more or less understand fully that men have produced a society filled with extreme narcissism, a population filled with ego maniacs who have a hard time understanding the difference between real compassion, and bullshit.
Compassion is not reserved for a specific country or culture. It is not reserved for a specific type of person, a specific ethnicity or a specific species of living beings. Compassion is not choosy, and is not prejudice.
Compassion surpasses all jugements, all pre conceptions. Compassion is non existent in the ego mind, and is a part of the soul itself. Compassion is infinite and undying. Compassion is fire and water. Compassion is darkness and light...Compassion is the creator and the created.
I urge all of you who read this with an open mind, to question your intention when it comes to showing sympathy or empathy. Question your behaviour and find out if you are capable of compassion. I have done this, and have been doing this, and it has led me to writing this and sharing it with you.
Whether you are American, Palestinian, Pakistani, Afghani, Canadian, British, Italian, Egyptian, German, Persian, Russian, Syrian Chinese, Bolivian, African, European, South American, Latino, Asian, Caucasian, Arab, Oak, Maple, Rose, Thorn Bush, Pacific Ocean, Olive Tree, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Duck, Dog, Cat, Cow, Crow, Seal, Fish, Penguin, Dolphin, Tiger, Lion, Cheetah, Elephant, Spider, Lizard, Guinea Hen, Pig, Horse, Chicken, Owl, Gay, Straight, Hippy, Muslim, New Ager, Atheist, Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, Jew, Fire, Water, Air, Rock, Earth, Soil, Man, Woman, Child, Mother, Father, Brother, Sister, Crippled, Blind, Deaf, Short, Tall, Skinny, Fat, Blond, Brunette, Redhead, Blue Eyed, Green Eyed, Brown Eyed, etc, etc, etc, etc....I do not care about who YOU are or what YOU are. I do not want to know your label, your physical traits, your language, your religion, your culture, or what you have labelled yourself, what the media has labelled you, what others have labelled you. I do not want to know why you think you are different than others, I do not want to hear your national anthem or your patriotism. I do not want to learn about your belief of separation or superiority or inferiority.
I want to send you my love, I want to show you that I am you, and that you are me. I want you to feel that regardless of who you think you are, or what you think you are, I feel that you deserve life. I feel that you deserve to be loved, and that you deserve to love. I feel that your life is precious, not more or less than anything or anyone elses life, but equally precious.
I want you to know, that I want to protect you, and will protect you if I can. I want you to know that regardless of your label, I believe your life is important and significant. I want you to know, that regardless of where you are in the world, I care about you, and believe that you deserve to live freely and without fear. No matter what religion you follow, or what culture you have embraced, I want you to feel that you are everything, and everything is you.
Maybe, just maybe, if compassion was the emotion that gripped this planet, rather than fear...tragedies like yesterday's tragedy would not have happened at all. Maybe, if compassion was taught to everyone, every child, and retaught to every adult...maybe there would be no murders across the planet....Maybe, prevention is teaching compassion. Maybe prevention lies in the education of open mindedness, acceptance, and the awareness of interconnectivity...Teach our children that we are all one, and that when you hurt another, you are hurting yourself. Teach our children that ALL life, including their own is extremely precious and has purpose.
Preventative measures accomplished through this type of education....The world needs to be released from the grip of fear and separation....
That is all.
With Love
SS
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