One of maybe two things I learned from a high school friend to whom I rant about college life is the concept of empathy. The concept of rant, is just new to me haha. She is a friend to whom I tell stories to, mostly sad heartache stories over the telephone[Yes, the landline].
I never encountered the word before, maybe in quizzes for context clues but the meaning or the word means really nothing. She explained that maybe Iknow the word "sympathy". It is not the same. I could post an internet link of the meaning of the words but I want the meaning as I learned it. Sympathy is like feeling sorry for the person. Empathy is like putting yourself on the shoes of that person and then try to imagine what that person is feeling.
My father got his wallet stolen last Wednesday. He must have felt really bad after that experience. Of course, he is a little at fault for bringing that much cash, for not being a little careful and that jeans he wearing was cheap. Yesterday we were eating breakfast and he looks sad with a blank look in his face. My mother then uttered "Ano, iniisip mo yung nawala mong wallet?" [Now what? Are you thinking about your stolen wallet?]. That was a stupid tactless nag. Adding insult to injury. I asked her to stop it. My father just lost his wallet. My father then has words of his own; how my mother is not being supportive since the day before, when it happened. He doesn’t want that to happen to himself. Nobody does. Losing the money, and all of his identification cards and our pictures when we were kids and the only graduation pictures of me and my older sisters that he keep there would be really sad. It was a little relief to know that they got the wallet back this morning. He said that the driver of the jeepney found it. The money is lost but still, all important things in there are back. I was thinking that maybe, the Identification cards and even the HMO card in there maybe used into something worse. Identity theft is real.
So yeah, empathy. I got you. Before talking shit especially to someone who’s sad and down, I try to think first how that person is feeling at the moment. Of course, I have my share of being tactless but to the people I care for, I try most of the time to be empathic. Especially if the person is sensitive.
I never encountered the word before, maybe in quizzes for context clues but the meaning or the word means really nothing. She explained that maybe Iknow the word "sympathy". It is not the same. I could post an internet link of the meaning of the words but I want the meaning as I learned it. Sympathy is like feeling sorry for the person. Empathy is like putting yourself on the shoes of that person and then try to imagine what that person is feeling.
My father got his wallet stolen last Wednesday. He must have felt really bad after that experience. Of course, he is a little at fault for bringing that much cash, for not being a little careful and that jeans he wearing was cheap. Yesterday we were eating breakfast and he looks sad with a blank look in his face. My mother then uttered "Ano, iniisip mo yung nawala mong wallet?" [Now what? Are you thinking about your stolen wallet?]. That was a stupid tactless nag. Adding insult to injury. I asked her to stop it. My father just lost his wallet. My father then has words of his own; how my mother is not being supportive since the day before, when it happened. He doesn’t want that to happen to himself. Nobody does. Losing the money, and all of his identification cards and our pictures when we were kids and the only graduation pictures of me and my older sisters that he keep there would be really sad. It was a little relief to know that they got the wallet back this morning. He said that the driver of the jeepney found it. The money is lost but still, all important things in there are back. I was thinking that maybe, the Identification cards and even the HMO card in there maybe used into something worse. Identity theft is real.
So yeah, empathy. I got you. Before talking shit especially to someone who’s sad and down, I try to think first how that person is feeling at the moment. Of course, I have my share of being tactless but to the people I care for, I try most of the time to be empathic. Especially if the person is sensitive.
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