Be kind when you can (you always can). There is nothing to be gained from attempting to empathize with someone who is neurologically incapable of returning the favor. Movies that encourage empathy are more effective than those that objectify problems.
Compassion is not just sympathy, it’s empathy. A narcissist will use the phrase “get over it” because to them, your concerns are trivial and if it’s not about them, then they’re not interested. You don’t protect your heart by acting like you don’t have one.
Empathy is seeing with the eyes of another, listening to the ears of another, and feeling with the heart of another. Humankind seems to have enormous capacity for savagery, for brutality, for lack of empathy, for lack of compassion. Be a little kinder than you have to.
The highest form of knowledge is empathy. It is the lack of empathy that makes it easy for us to plunge into wars. It is extremely powerful to hear someone say, “I get you. I understand. I see why you feel this way.” This kind of empathy disarms us.
I’m Empath. I’ve got 99 problems but 89 of them belong to the other people. Self absorbed people only think about what makes them feel good at the moment – they don’t have any respect or regard for anyone else. Then they wonder why their relationships fail.
Empathy. The ability to step into the shoes of another person, aiming to understand their feelings and perspectives, and to use the understanding to guide our actions. Morals, empathy, respect, compassion. We need an app for that. If we can’t see eye to eye,
Let’s try heart to heart
©️ Gottfried. All rights reserved
Banter Republic 
Empathy is the bridge that connects hearts, allowing us to truly understand and support one another. As Maya Angelou wisely said, “I think we all have empathy. We may not have enough courage to display it.” By embracing empathy, we foster deeper connections and create a more compassionate world.
goodnight. 🌷
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God bless Maya ❤️
We should all be there and support each other
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Shared on Facebook, Gottfried!
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Thanks Alex!
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You’re welcome. 🙂
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Cheers mate!
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yes we should always learn to embrace the ethics of empathy in most scenarios of life, But, im quite curious Mr Gottfried, does having empathy also warrant taking disrespect from a fellow all because you want to create a space for calmness, or kindness towards that individual, cos I won’t see a wrong done either to me or my people and keep quiet about it. So it doesn’t have to be Empathy to Sympathy, just thinking out loud
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You can have empathy and still be firm.
It doesn’t suggest that you should roll over and play dead in the name of empathy.
It is not an invitation to take disrespect at all.
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Wonderful post, Gottfried!
I think following the Golden Rule has the power to solve many problems.
If we want students to get along with others, we should teach empathy in school curriculums and deal effectively with bullies.
If, as individuals, we want to make the world a better place, we should treat others with empathy and respect.
Government is in chaos! Can we infuse government with empathy or are the motivations of greed and desire for power going to completely going to destroy our democracy and our institutions? Can we deal effectively with the bullies?
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You raise some very important points, Cheryl! The Golden Rule is indeed a powerful principle, and fostering empathy is crucial, not just in schools, but throughout society.
You’re absolutely right, the state of our government can be deeply concerning. It’s disheartening to see greed and power struggles overshadowing the needs of the people. However, I believe that empathy can still play a crucial role in improving governance.
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Thank you for your thoughtful reply, Gottfried. It is my hope that we see more empathy in society and government in the near future. 🙏
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Cheers! Hope so too!
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What the World Needs Now Mr Gottfried is “Love Sweet Love”
By Hal David and Burt Bacharach And “What’s Going On” By Marvin Gaye
THere is A Better Way as Cross Culturally All Mystical Spiritual Religion
At Least Points the
Way to the Apex
Wisdom Eye
Pyramid of
Humanity
Giving Sharing Caring
Healing Empathy Compassion
LoVE iN Peace For All Mr Gottfried
With Most Respect Least Harm God Yes
Yes Yes Continuing Practice of this Great Play
of Art in Life Always Improving in Understanding
Of Others Always Changing Now as THere is No
Constant of a Golden Rule as One Person’s Way
of Heaven is Another Person’s Way of HeLL ON EartH
Hehe Just
Ask my
Super
Shy
Introverted Wife
Honestly it’s Kinda Disgusting
too as the Alpha Male is Only
A Myth Applied to Chimps as
Actually in the Wild They Choose
the Most Cooperative and Empathetic
of Chimp Leaders to Take Care of An All
Hands Effort
of Surviving For
Real and Of Course
Bonobos Live a Best
Life oF LoVE iN Peace
Without Any Words
Spoken or Written
in Big Black Dusty
Antiquated Books
As Always With Humanity
A DarK Force of the DarK Triad
Way of Doing Life With Fear Anger
Hate and All Stuff War in Imperial Selfish
Greedy
Way of
Life Pursuits
Yet LoVE iN Peace
Wings So Warmly Meek
in Grace FRiEnDS With
Gravity Defying the DarK
Force With LoVE iN Peace
So Warmly Moving Connecting
Co-Creating Together Full of
Empathy
Compassion
And Understanding
For All as the Pendulum
Has Swung Toward the DarK
Once Again Yet the Champion
OF LoVE iN Peace Roars Again
From the Back Pews of
Life to
Be
Felt
And Sensed
More Real again…
At Least for me as
it’s far beyond my
Pay Grade to Make
Anyone Leave THeir DarK
Triad of HeLL ON EartH
COld As Orange Ice Indeed
Meanwhile for now i LiVE iN
The HOTTEST Winter place
in the United States After Breaking
The Snow Fall Record of 9.8 Inches
Just a Few
Weeks Ago
Hehe Breaking
Records it Seems
Wherever i BREaTHE
What Defying Gravity Does
As ‘Wicked’ Melts in my Way…
Hey There’s
Nothing Wrong
With Being Confident
A Way of No Fear And
All LoVE iN Peace With
Even More Empathy and
Compassion Indeed With SMiLes
Win
Win
Win
Stand
Up Fight
Fight No
One Will
Defeat Our LiGHT!
Go Team Go Oh NO
Just Missed the Super Bowl
Writing This to You Hehe
Nothing Lost
All is
Gained
Once Again
ALL LoVE iN
Peace to ALL
With
SMiLes
Very Inspiring
Post Mr Gottfried
Keep the Torch Aflame..:)
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Shy and introverted are the recipes for a healthy empath.
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“Shy and introverted are the recipes for a healthy empath.”
SMiLes Mr Gottfried Introverts Tend to be More Introspective
And Additionally Many Introverts are More Sensitive to the Emotional
Environment Feeling the Pleasure and Pain of Others in More Extreme Ways
That May Actually Cause them Discomfort thereby Withdrawing rather than
Reaching
Out Touching
Others Providing
Action With Compassion
As Extreme Levels of ‘Affective Empathy’
In Sharing the Feelings of others May Bring That
Discomfort Particularly in Larger Groups of People of Course
Compassion Reaches Out Touches and Helps Others With Action
Yes Understanding the Feelings of Others May Be Much Different
As that Comes With Other Cultural And Religious Traditions And Natural
Ways of Being as “Affective Empathy” Feels for Others Sharing Their Feelings
And “Cognitive Empathy” ‘Thinks’ And Understands Other Folks Experience
Life Much
Differently
Than Us
As Compassion
Now Inspires Us to
Reach Out And Touch
Others Providing Actions
That Help Yet Also Better Understands
The Differences of Others Leading to Greater
Mercy And
Forgiveness
For Others as Well…
Actually A Person May Experience
Feelings of Empathy for Whatever Cultural
Or other Religious ‘In-Group’ They May Be part of
Yet Be Very Divisive And Cold When it Comes to Other
Traditions Tending to Sadly Even Exclude them From Even
Being Human at all Yes So Dehumanizing as We Surely See in the
World Today Per Relevant Example of one Church Condemning Another
Denomination of the Same Religion to Hell Yes as even in my Local Area
The So-Called ‘Protestants’
in the History Here Threw
Bricks through the
Windows of
the Local
Catholic Church
With the Easy Example
of that Conflict all the
Years in Ireland of Course
And Yes of Course With Muslims
And Folks of the Jewish Tradition too
Cognitive Empathy With Affective Empathy
Combines to Generate Compassion to Widen
The Circle
of Our
Human
Species Sadly
Though the Reality is
Humans Are Naturally Limited
in Their Abilities to Accept Differences
of Others and Some Much More than Others
As that Comes to Folks Who Are More Open or
Closed Minded as Natural Personality Traits of Course
Yet the Truth is
Empathy Yes Both
Affective and Cognitive
Plus Compassion That Yes
Reaches Out Touches and
Helps With Action With Mercy
And Forgiveness are Human Virtues
Through Life that May Be All Developed
Stronger in Balance As Wisdom Comes to
Breathe
With Greater
Helpful Experiences of Life
Without Compassion Our Circle
oF LoVE iN Peace May Be Strong
Yet Very Limited Indeed Without Helping
Others Who
Are Different
Than Us Much
A Great Example is
the Current ‘Conservative’
Push to Exclude Aid for Starving
Children and Adults in Africa and Other
Countries Through Humanitarian Aid as
They Are Considered
‘Other’ and Not As Important
as ‘Us’ as part of ‘Our’ ‘In-Group’
And That too is part of the Darker parts
of Human Nature Failing to Seek the LiGHT
Providing
Compassion
Now With Mercy
And Forgiveness
That Heals More iN
LiGHT Giving Sharing
Caring Away From Loving
Peaceful Ignorance Indeed….
Yeah Baby It’s Like ‘Waking Up’
‘Getting Woke’ like ‘Jesus’ And Wanting to Help Folks Who
Are Different than Us First Step Feeling Then Reaching
Out Touching And REaLLY Understanding Folks Who Are
Different
than Us Yes
Obviously the Lesson
‘The Story Book Hero
Jesus Provided’ Touching
The World Healing ALL and Not Just
One Small Patch of Dirt in the Middle East…
It’s Hard for
Some Folks
to Extend that
Out of Their
Local way
of
Group Feel
Think and Do
And Again that is Part
of the Limited Nature
of Being Human in Our
Natural State of ‘Sin’ against the Other
Literally ‘Missing the Mark’ Of A Larger
Reach of Humanity
FOR ALL…
A Mountain to
Climb Still A
Camel to
Fit through
The Existing
Eyes of Needles
Of Group Think
Feel
and
Do For Real…
Compassion Unifies
Sadly Empathy Often
Divides Excludes and
Narrows Our Circle of Humanity…
In Fact One In-Group’s Empathy May
Completely Devastate the Other Group
Pictures on the News Most Every Day for Real…
Yet True some
Folks Rarely
Even Watch
The News
Again We aRe All
Only Human We Have
Limits for Our Social Capacity to Do this
Some have fewer limits than others and seek
and find ways their entire life to feel think understand reach
out touch and help in Greater Ways of Compassion for ALL
Yep the
Lesson
of the
so-Called
‘Buddha Way of Life
True’ Yet Sadly Some are
Even excluded in that way too…
Always room to Improve With SMiLes
Mr Gottfried When it Comes to the
Capital of Value For All of Humanity
Putting
People
ALL
People
First Yes
Not Just
This or
that Group
And or Dude alone…
Or Name of ‘God’ Different
From the Essence of
LoVE iN Peace
Expanding
in Empathy
And Compassion For ALL…
Yes ALL of Nature Providing
Mercy And Forgiveness Even More
This Home to Breathe LoVE iN Peace
Ah Yes a Human With Empathy
And Compassion for ALL rarely
has a place to Fully Rest Their
Soul in Any Kind of Tradition that Excludes
(Tradition Naturally Excludes It’s what
IT Does Beyond the Walls of Tradition True)
And Gets all
Butthurt
When Others
are Actually Included
Like ‘Tax Collectors Prostitutes’ and the such…
Yep the General Metaphor of ‘Sadducees and Pharisees’
Indeed
Getting ALL Butthurt
over Including
The Outsiders
of Tradition for Real
SMiLes Mr Gottfried the Challenge Continues Now
The SHow Must Go on New With More LoVE iN Peace
Empathy Yes Affective and Cognitive With Compassion
Ever
Expanding
With Mercy
And Forgivness
More Now a New
UNiVeRSE For Real
We May All Come to See
Yep Wake UP
Be And Do
Newly
Now
With
SMiLes…
OR NOT Such
is the Condition
of Our Condition For Real…
It’s Rather Fascinating my FRiEnD
And Worth Continuing Study As Any
Real Anthropology Participant Observer May Freely Poetically
Really Also Do Continuing NoW in EPiC Dance And Song For Real…
A Never
Ending
Changing
Human Story
This All Is For Real too…
Yes Rather interesting Now
New to Be pART of tHE ALL (God)
With
even
More
SMiLes..:)
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They not like us
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“They not like us”
iNDeeD Dear Mr Gottfried
‘We’ hehe at Least me Feed
The Poor of SPiRiT HeART And SouL
Free With Manna From Above AKA
LoVE iN Peace As one Saint
Teresa Exclaims The Only
Body Jesus Has is Ours
Now And We Receive the
Teachings of Jesus as
Another Saint Teresa
Suggests True one
From Avila the
Other From
Calcutta Once
Adorning Bannners
in Messages at the
Church i Regularly Study
Yes Only to Give Share
Care Heal LoVE iN Peace
For All Others With Most
Respect Least Harm iN JoY oF LiGHT
Yes for All Humans No Exceptions ALLoWeD
Particularly With the Beatitude Teachings of
The ‘Good Cop Version’ Of Jesus in Sacred
And Holy Text Worth Giving to Others Free
in Empathy and Compassion of
Mercy And Forgiveness as We
Humans Aren’t Always Particularly
Rational and Once Again We Will Bond
And Bind Even Over Taking the Human Dignity
Away from Poor Immigrants Like the Jesus Dude
Just Escaping to Egypt So He Wouldn’t Get Slayed By
Cruel
Kings
Per Story
of Course With
SMiLes While i Visit
the Catholic Church as
Only an Anthropology Participant
Observer Who Happens to Agree and
Do the Good Cop Jesus Teachings For Real
It Is Important for Leaders to Support the LiGHT
When DArkness Covers A Land So the Head Priest
Provided Some Words From the Pope on Hand-outs
at Church it Was 3 Pages hehe i’lll Go Easy on Ya
With A Few
Salient
Yes on
Point Take Aways
From His Delicate
Yet Real Admonishment
of His ‘Employees’ And Congregants:
“I exhort all the faithful of the Catholic Church,
and all men and women of good will, not to give
in to narratives that discriminate against and cause
unnecessary suffering to our migrant and refugee brothers and sisters”.
Yes He warned that forcefully removing people based on their immigration
status deprives them of their dignity and “will end badly.” True not a ‘Good Look’
For What is Reported as the Beatitudes of the Good Cop Jesus Dude to Spread
All Around
For Real
So the Pope
Goes on to Relate
As A “Response to the Trump administration’s
plans to deport migrants en masse. The pope’s
appeal is intended to help Catholics and others
resist anti-immigration rhetoric that can be seductive and divisive.
Catholic teaching views migration through the lens of human dignity
and the common good.”
It’s True A Balance of Law
And Order Along With Mercy
Forgiveness And Compassion is Required
For Societies to Thrive and Even Survive…
When Dignity is Treated With Cold Hearted
Callous
Cruelty
The End
is Already
Near Enough For Real…
Nah Thank God Not Like ‘They’
Yet We aRe All PArt Whole of this
EartHShip No use MaKinG IT HardShip…
Be Seeing Ya Soon and Sooner too Mr Gottfried
With SMiLes
Not Wasting
My Life in a ReaLiTy
Of Hot And Cold Rocks
Up THeRE and Down Hear too
iNDeeD It is ‘We’ Yet i Shall Continue
To Wish
the Best
For ‘They’
Too It is what
Good ShipMates True
Just Naturally Do Yes
As Suggested by the Good
Cop J Dude too For Real by Story at Least…
Hey What Will i Dance And Sing Free on An
All NiGHT And Day of SuNDaY PoSSeSSinG Even
Higher Vibrations Frequencies Energies of Holy
And Sacred
Real Organic
RiSinG SPiRiT HeART
SoUL Yep ‘Depth of
The Story’ Hehe PiLeD
Higher
Deeper
Yet No PHD
Required just
Free Wings of Soul to
Do NoW iN
FLiGHT
New
With
SMiLes
For Real…
Ah Yes the
To Do List GRowS oN..:)
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Free spirit!
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Sometimes, the easiest way to heal from things is to try to understand the motive behind others’ actions. Unfortunately, not everyone reciprocates, so we have to find a balance to be empathetic without being drained.
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Allowing someone get the closure they require is a form of empathy.
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This is a thoughtful reflection on the power and necessity of empathy. While not everyone will reciprocate, choosing kindness and understanding still makes up for a more compassionate world.
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By choosing kindness, you show strength and not weakness
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Brilliant post!
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Thanks mate!
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Did this topic in Sunday school. Such a lovely thing when humans are empathic, almost all problems goes away because everyone is capable of solving someone else’s problem. Let love lead 💕
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Glad you enjoyed the read mate ❤️
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Thank you so so much for this.
Permission to share
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You’re free to!
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Thanks always.
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You’re welcome!
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