I know its been awhile, so I'm doing this in a two part set to give your lovely thoughts a buffet after the famine. I want to start by looking into the ideas of sympathy and empathy. Many people do not seem to understand these concepts in exact terms, especially in difference, so I will explain what each is and how they are important. Firstly though I want to try a little paradigm shift with what you may perceive of these ideas. It doesn't work as well with sympathy as it does empathy but, since language is a growing and changing conception, in theory, anything can have whatever meaning we assign, so here is the paradigm shift and my reconstruction of definition, or as I think is more apt, definition renovation. Instead of looking at these words and imagining that they only apply to negative situations, think of them as relevant to the understanding of and connection with all scenarios. We think of them generally in relation to pain or sorrow, but how much more can we understand and connect to each other if we realize the similarities of all our emotions and experiences. It seems to lessen the ideals of individuality but reinforces the diminishing form of communities. Personally I have a great deal of difficulty with ideas of community and a sort of extreme loss of control and space but, when thought about at a safe distance, it seems like a beneficially healthy pursuit. I think its more us naturally than what we are on are own, but we never really look into to far, except for those we might label as extremists, and I think a large part of it, which is my consistent hang up, is that people really cannot be trusted fundamentally. But, I have digressed and trust is a post for another day. Back to sympathy and empathy.
Sympathy and empathy are, with respect to my definition renovation, the way we relate to others. Sympathy being the way we can relate to another person's scenario based on general themes of understanding and/or observational knowledge; (though if you look up the proper definition it will be less about how we relate and more on what we relate to, ie. pity and sorrow for another's misfortunes. But, this is distracting to the point I'm trying to make ^_^). Empathy, on the other hand, is the way we relate to each other with experiential knowledge and, what I would say is, a truer understanding. We've both done it, or felt it (whatever 'it' may be) and, therefore, when we relate our situations there is a mutual understanding of the reality.
I know that, for me, when someone empathizes with my situation I feel connected and solaced by that in a way that is properly true, and what we possibly are supposed to be, in relation to community and human connection, becomes. [I know that this vague and riddled with interpretation, but as an understanding of very limited and privileged sense of society its the best I can hope for in the general sense, and to me this is the core of what is important.] Sympathy, however genuine, lacks actually understanding and is therefore nullified as meaningful, unfortunately. Meaning, for everything, being the ultimate goal, makes it difficult to waste time on anything that doesn't relate, sadly. But, now, to the point.
The reason for this definition renovation, specifically, is that I find that there are multiple ways to empathize. I have no patience for sympathy these days because the more experiences I have, along with the additional difficulties they present, the more meaningless the absence of real understanding becomes; however empathy, integrated into all situations, is quite powerful. To be able to connect with someone else in a very organic sense provides many of the basic feelings that make us human and develops community (which as I've already said is (possibly) the natural state of humanity) and creates the actualities that separate us from other species. But, I want to re-make the point that it does not have to only be a part of the negative form that it has been confined to for so long. We can empathize with everything. More specifically (again), being with falling in love. [Falling in love and the realization of it as a conception will be coming soon, but in the meantime, if you have never fallen in love you won't ever understand, and if you have you'll understand all too well.]
Disney has provided us with ideals of love spanning a limited range, but at least its something. However, as soon as you really look at people in love, and experience love yourself, you'll never realize how confusing and subjective it truly is. And this is where empathy enters. I have found that, though I have been in love, and that fact will never change even as my perceptions of love do, its better and more honest to empathize with lovers rather than judge their decisions within love; because, even if you've never done it, you've probably seen the idiocy of love. I've done it, time and time again, but that, to me, allows me some more insight and wisdom/empathy in the subject to have a minimal say; but, lately that say has been less kind than I'd like to see, and here we fall into part two ^_^
