Empathy

“If we could look into each other’s hearts and understand the unique challenges each of us faces, I think we would treat each other much more gently, with more love, patience, tolerance, and care.” ~ Marvin J. Ashton

People who are always "in ego" lack empathy. It's always about them, their desires and agenda, their pleasure and comfort. They do not care about what the other person might be feeling or how they will receive the requests (whether reasonable or not), unkind words, or actions that are done and spoken. If they really understood the psychology of empathy and practiced it, they would be able to actually receive what it is they want and the giver would give it to them happily.

Sensing a person’s emotions and imagining what they might be thinking or feeling is empathy. The best way to understand it is putting ourselves in the other person’s shoes - “if someone said or did this to me, how would I feel?”. Taking another’s feelings into consideration before we say or do something allows us to be more sympathetic toward that person and it can also help us to find a way to be a support to them.

Empathy, as well as compassion, are important attributes that should be shared with each other every day. When we do, we will get along better, it will contribute to our emotional well-being and we’ll surely have more meaningful relationships. ~ © 2014 T. A. Garcia