D30DEC24 – Apathy

Dear Stuck in the present,

This is your reminder from the past, and the lesson for the future.
The reminder of the fine nuance of apathy and empathy.

Empathy is the ability to understand, identify and may be even share the thought, the feeling of someone else. Often used to describe the good.

Apathy is often assumed to be the lack of the above. The inability to understand, identify, and share it. Often used to describe the evil.

That derivation is flawed, for the meaning is misunderstood.
The reality is – no matter how similar you feel, they aren’t you. They aren’t the sum total of all the experiences you have been through. The life experiences that has shaped you – great, good, bad, ugly; all of it. There’s a bit of apathy hidden everywhere in the assumption that you can feel the same as someone else.
You do not accurately know what an 8-year-old feels like having accidentally dropped their candy. You often assume. You often approximate it to the closest of such memory you have. You feel sorry for them. And that’s where sym roots from. Shared Feeling.

Another cousin – Another assumption of believed superiority. You may feel sad, may be even shed a tear. But you wouldn’t know what the 8 year old felt like. Leave aside, why so.
All you could do is try to make them feel better.
Maybe offer them yours. Or may be drop yours too, tell them may be now you both feel similar – and then join them in their pursuit of more. Shared pursuit.

– SA10