Cry Baby Cry

Last week as Meghan and I were driving home from South Ogden, we came upon a wreck. The rescue vehicles were arriving at the scene, traffic was slowing down, and people were starting to gawk and try to get a better look. Me? I burst into tears. It had already been a long, but good day.

A day of shopping and heart to hearts.

We had spent the day with Cassie and had a great time, but we had also had some melt downs and heart to hearts. More of that in a moment. The fact stands that whether I had already had a full day or not, I would have cried. I am always grateful that I wear sunglasses because I cry at wrecks, and many, many other emotional times for other people. Not because I know the people or know what happened, but because I feel FOR the people, and HOW they must be feeling right then. Scared, hurt, bewildered...I run the gamut and feel each feeling for the other human beings involved. I am told this is empathy. I have loads of it, and this is supposed to be a good quality. Sometimes I hate having so much of it.

I have always worried about things, but I mostly worry about other people. I worry about the things others are going through, and how they must feel facing these things. When my father-in-law had his heart surgery, I couldn't sleep. I felt anxiety and fear for him. I felt HIS worry. When a person loses a loved one, I feel the emptiness that comes with loss. When a person cries, I always end up crying too. This has been something I have been made fun of for, but I seriously cannot help it. The crying is automatic. You can be someone I have never seen in my life, crying on TV and I will cry right along with you. I hurt for you and with you. When it comes from someone I know and love, it gets ridiculous how much I can feel. The day of the wreck, I had been consoling Cassie over her change in jobs that was coming immediately. I know God has great plans for her and has lined up wonderful things for her future, just as He always has, but in that moment, the loss of her latest job was heart-wrenching and a little bit of a blow to her self-esteem. She loves so much the family that she has been working for, and to see past that love to something new was almost more than she could take that day. SO we all cried-a lot. Then I came home and worried and cried some more. And slept less. And worried through her last day of work. Then cried some more with her after she bravely said goodbye.

My two girls.

And so I may always cry....Empathy. The world doesn't have enough of it. Sympathy-sometimes yes, empathy most of the time, no.

Sympathy means feelings or impulses of compassion.

Empathy means the psychological identification with or vicarious experiencing of the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another.

When it comes right down to it, I think empathy is a gift. Sometimes it is hard to bear, but when I really need to share it with someone who needs it, I am glad I am able to. Understanding what someone is feeling because you can feel it too is a blessing, and sometimes a curse, but I know it is one of the gifts I need to give, and do it willingly. Can you imagine how different our world would be if we could feel pain for others? It wouldn't take long for us to understand each other better, would it? Find your empathy, use it freely, let it become your super power if you will. It's a game changer.