Empathy and Compassion

True empathy and compassion are prodigious qualities to have.  They are very similar in nature, and one of the meanings is the same, but there is a notable difference.  The definition of empathy in Jacquelyn Small's book, "Becoming Naturally Therapeutic, a Return to the True Essence of Helping is:  "Empathy is the quality that enables us to perceive another's experience and then to communicate that perception back to the individual."  Empathy is the ability to identify with another person's feelings.  It leads to openness and warmth.  However, if one only empathizes, he hasn't done anything active or concrete.  He mainly offers others a helpful presence by just listening and being there for them.  Compassion, on the other hand, is caring and a willingness to help, not only by being there for others and listening to them, but doing or saying something that will help them work through their situations and challenges.  Being compassionate means caring for      "All Creatures Great and Small," which is the title, of veterinarian, James Herriot's, first book.  The compassionate person is the one who gives to charity and does volunteer work with poor and sick people, and animals.  It takes a certain type of person to be totally compassionate for this person is selfless and lives their whole life helping others, a person like Jesus Christ in the Christian tradition.  Both empathy and compassion mean someone feels others' emotional pain and struggles as he does his own and relatively has "walked a mile in their shoes."  The challenge for the compassionate person is not to identify so strongly that he loses himself.  If one is compassionate, he becomes so filled with love and compassion that he is compelled to share these feelings with the world.  An empathetic, and particularly a compassionate person, brings a special element to humanity in his kindness and gentleness.....look for the light.