As we continue to move through 2020, you may have been challenged to expand emotionally or spiritually. People all around the world are facing hardships. We are dealing with real issues around race, politics and COVID-19. It’s been a whirlwind!

With great challenges comes a great opportunity to expand our consciousness. 

So I thought it fitting to dissect three commonly misunderstood words. Sympathy, empathy and compassion are often misused. Some think compassion is empathy and empathy is sympathy. And while all are important to experience to connect with other human beings, to truly understand these words would mean we can truly act in alignment to their meaning.  

Sympathy: To understand what someone else is going through even if you have not felt those feelings before. You can understand why someone would feel the sadness of their best friend’s death, though you may not have had that experience yourself.

Empathy: To feel what the other person is feeling, maybe you have felt those same feelings or maybe you cry when someone is crying. It’s a step deeper than just understanding what someone is feeling, it’s feeling what someone is feeling.

Compassion: To act on the feeling of sympathy or empathy. It is to show up for another human being without judgement and give support in whatever way you can. Compassion is an act through the feeling of sympathy or empathy. 

Practicing compassion is awesome for our wellbeing and here are a few tips on how to do that when it’s really challenging.

1. Separate the person from their behavior. For example, rather than say, “That person is a jerk.” Say, “That person is acting like a jerk.” And truthfully, don’t we all from time to time? We are not our behaviors. This shift can help you see a person differently. 
2. Remember that everyone is doing the best they can in relation to their level of awareness. People can only go as deep outside of themselves as they have gone within, so understanding that will help you have more compassion for someone who seems to be struggling. 
3. It’s difficult to give something to others that you are not able to give yourself. So practice self compassion as well. Talk kindly to yourself. Be with yourself when you’re struggling emotionally and be patient with yourself as you exercise your compassion muscle. 

In the end, we are all only human, doing the best we can. Much of my healing has happened because of my work around compassion. Extend love when you can and your wellbeing will improve for sure. 

To quote the Dalai Lama “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”