It’s amazing how many postings Google has about the difference between empathy and sympathy.  So if I struggle to understand the humanity of members of the new super rich super exclusive super expensive  social clubs in, say, New York City, which should I be?  If I feel sympathy I might think  “poor–”  no, I couldn’t say “Poor.”  I couldn’t say “heartless,” “alienated” or “greedy,” for that would not be true sympathy.  So, for me, sympathy would not be possible.  Empathy…will be a challenge.

We’re all born to a “blooming, buzzing confusion,’ wrote William James, and we are, too.  Entirely innocent.  And then…Money and prestige, maybe power, became the most important existence in the world. Is it their fault  that Mommy and Daddy and friends  enjoyed the greatest posessions and status possible?  Probably not their immediate fault that the unclean hordes were…inconvenienced,  homeless, hungry.  My way or the highway?  Stop!  That’s not empathy.

So…growing up without empathy, basking in perks, setting the styles, feeling entitled,  envied by many, reinforced by parents, a glory in the mirror, what’s the problem, Bozo?

What is my struggle with being emphatic…I mean empathic?  Jealousy! That’s it!  If I had it would I want to spend  money on building homes for the homeless or pay the initial  $20,000 fee plus an annual fee of, say, $5,000— an exclusive members-only social club in New York City?  Or being able to buy a table, immediately, in any exclusive restaurant for anywhere between $100 – $1,ooo, say?  Or a purse from Louis Vuitton for $3,400? …but wait, delivery is free.

Today’s Quotation: What is the meaning of “there but for the grace of God go I”?   However it is expressed, “there but for the grace of God go I” is a statement of humility and gratitude that acknowledges one’s own sinful nature …