Compassion ? Empathy ?

If someone were to ask me to tell the difference between empathy and compassion, I'm  not so sure what I would say, as I often use one instead of the other. Perhaps, I'd just say that empathy is taking interest in others’ problems and suffering and that compassion is just dialing it up. I bet I’m not alone in mixing those two. 

Empathy and compassion often walk hand in hand, but they’re not interchangeable. In looking at it closely, empathy is feeling for someone, with the ability to understand and share that person’s emotional experience.

By doing that, we mentally or emotionally step into these people’s shoes, whether it’s for grief, joy, anxiety, or anger. It can be emotional (we feel their pain) or cognitive (we intellectually grasp what they’re going through). 

One could say “I feel what you feel.” On the other hand, compassion is acting for someone. It does include empathy, but it goes further as my own definition alluded to above. It adds one big step, which is the desire to alleviate suffering, in helping, comforting, or supporting. 

One could say that compassion is empathy in motion. It’s what moves us to bring soup, make a call, or simply sit beside someone in silence. This time we could say “I feel what you feel and I want to help.” In searching that question, I’ve read somewhere that empathy is the spark, compassion is the flame, in the sense that empathy ignites awareness while compassion sustains action. 

More often than not, our instinct to support grieving loved ones, draft comforting messages, and reflect deeply on others’ pain is true compassion. Look at it as empathy with sleeves rolled up!