Sympathy vs. Empathy
Over the past couple days, I have been thinking of how I relate to the two. I realized that my problems stem from an inability to have sympathy, and I have too much empathy. It seems hard for me to have sympathy for a situation or a person, if I can't relate to it. Maybe it is just a personality flaw. Then I realized, when I do feel for someone or some situation, it almost eats me up inside, because my empathy is so strong. I really feel it. I notice this when certain things get to me, and others don't. I mean I am either ambivalent, or hyper sensitive. I can even feel it when I read something, see something on TV in a certain show, or certain music hits me. I want to find a certain kind of balance. I wish I could identify or devote some of my feeling to one thing, and pull back when I get to emotional involved. Until then, I think I will have high highs and low lows.