What if Irony is Judging Others for Lacking Empathy?
There is no such thing
as “over-”
thinking.
There is merely
“thinking”
that either we
or others
judge
as “too much.”
Instead of judging ourselves or others,
may we realize empathy
with our own thought process
so we can learn
why
our mind is behaving the way it is,
then support them
to address its concerns
to relieve it
of its tension.
Sometimes
we think the reason why
we feel anxiety
is because of the burden we feel
to keep our promise
to our investors.
But upon realizing empathy,
with ourselves
or our investors,
we may realize
that it may actually be
because we judge ourselves
as less capable
of carrying the burden
than others.
When someone judges us
a “difficult
case,”
it can be easy
to blame ourselves
for being
a “difficult,
case.”
While this may mean
there is something extraordinary
about us,
it also means
that someone with greater skills
will not not judge us
a “difficult
case.”
p.s: This was inspired by a meeting with a doctor who called my wife a “difficult case,” while asking her to work with another doctor with more experience and skill. An unfortunately common case of compassion without empathy, displayed by many of us, including yours truly, when we take on the role of caregiving.
When someone
is striving toward a goal,
dissuading them from the goal
can be the very definition
of being
unsupportive.
We can rationalize why
we are right
to dissuade them.
We may even argue
that it’s for their own
good.
What doesn‘t change—
until their goal changes—
is that we are perceived
as unsupportive
to them,
and thus perceived
to not be
on the same
team.
Resentment may judge
“I shouldn’t
have to
do that.”
Wonder may ask
“I wonder
what I can do instead?”
When we judge ourselves
as selfish,
it is often nothing more
than a symptom
of our fear
of being judged by others
as selfish.
We are only
“lost”
in relation to
where we want
to go.
If we don’t know
where we want
to go,
we may instead be
faced with an opportunity
for exploration
and play.
Unless,
of course,
we think we know
where we want
to go,
because we conflate
where we want
to go
with where we think
we should want
to go.
In which case,
we may still feel
“lost.”
