What if Irony is Judging Others for Lacking Empathy?
When something
or someone
with which we hyper-empathize
is threatened,
we can obsess over rescuing
or protecting
that something
or someone
with which
we hyper-empathize.
This can drive us
to lose sight
of everything around us
and focus solely
on the survival
of only those
with which we hyper-empathize,
even if
it is at the expense of others
with whom
we do not
hyper-empathize,
even if the other
is our so-called
“self.”
When someone leans on us
we sometimes mistake them
for falling,
which inspires us
to rescue them.
But all they really need
is for us
to support them
while they lean.
p.s: My gratitude goes out to Pinky Parsons for inspiring this post.
When I rescue,
I
take responsibility
for carrying out the actions
that increase the chance
of someone’s survival.
When I support,
I help someone
learn
the choice to take responsibility
for carrying out the actions
that increase the chance
of their own survival.