Our intelligent curriculum at SRKF teaches both empathy and compassion and their importance in and out of the Kwoon. I find that empathy and compassion often become meshed together as they both have very similar qualities and yet they are different.
Empathy is the ability to feel for others, builds awareness, understanding and strengthens our human connections. When we empathize with others we have the ability to see things from other people's perspective. This gives us a broader more open outlook and the ability to understand a persons actions, and emotions.
Compassion has many of the same qualities and is usually a response to empathy. Compassion creates a desire to help while also being able to separate ourselves from the emotion of a situation. Being able to set aside the emotion helps us to respond appropriately versus just reacting. Having the ability to remove or set aside emotion is important when it comes to managing an appropriate response and guides us. It is that appropriate response that is going to best help a person or situation.
My current situation with my brothers has created an opportunity for me to practice both empathy and a develop a better understanding of compassion. At first I had no desire to put in any time or effort towards helping individuals that are creating harmful situations for myself and my dad. As things escalated and decisions were being made I had a moment when I knew compassion was needed. I would help them in some way. That is because I am compassionate. Being compassionate helped me to set aside some of my feelings of frustration and anger long enough to ask myself some difficult questions. Questions like should I help them? How can I help them? And why?
Why? Because in addition to having a family connection my brothers are fellow human beings. My dad would also be affected by what happens to both of them. And I would be at odds with myself if I didn't at least try to help in some way. I have empathy which gives me a measure of understanding. Compassion helps me to separate their behavior from their basic needs as human beings.
The help I provided was in the way of information and resources. Who knows, that small bit of help may be a pivot point that determines where they end up. The choices are still theirs to make. And hopefully somewhere down the road they will become more positive, productive contributing members of society. A hand up. There are others whose first instinct would be to cut them off entirely and have them fend for themselves. Throw them to the wolves so to speak. This serves no one and has greater potential for negative outcomes.
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