> How are you doing?

A somewhat strange post, the difference between empathy and compassion, I am not sure where I fall between the two, or if I even really understand them, but in answer to the question above, I am actually doing pretty good. Took the morning off from commenting, just got a little voting done and out of the way. 

I think I had a pretty nice week, not sure others would think the same but we were waiting on no invisible visitors, those people that say they may come by sometime today. Time thieves, we all have them in our life, we all hate the wait. This week none of that malarkey. So it made for a nice week.

I know people have issues and problems, likes and dislikes. I do empathize with and have compassion for those with problems, and I will lend an ear to them. Listening has become more and more of an art, people have forgotten to listen actively, to ensure they are getting the message the other is trying to impart.

We are starting the weekend with a nice dinner out at our favorite restaurant in just a few minutes. I hope everyone else has a nice beginning to the weekend, or a nice continuation of the weekend, the past is done the future is later now is the time to just be and do. 

> How are you doing?

Still alive, and this is the main thing.

This is a great skill and quality : to know how to genuinely listen to people. I am still perfecting it and I strive to be better, it is a skill which is worth having at its fullest. We often think that we're listening when in fact we judge or prepare our response or just mumble some approval. Genuine listening would really help a lot of people improve the quality of their relationships.
We must have 2 ears and only 1 mouth for a good reason....

Bandwidth is always available here. At least when I care enough to actually care, rather than compassion which to me is a hallway or water cooler sentiment.

It's amazing that in how my brain works I have generally only very little bandwidth for most but for the few it's unlimited and uncapped. 

Yet, the water cooler or the corridors may lead some to think otherwise because they don't make the same distinction. Curse of the introvert who is perfectly capable to ~~chameleon~~ function in social settings? 

*I'm fine given everything. How are YOU doing?*

The first move for a better life and a better version of yourself is *(and will always be)* to focus more on yourself before the others. It's a thing that I'm also working on myself and it often brings me strange moods and makes me scared for my future considering that I'm not good enough when I compare me with the others. But we are the biggest judgers of our lives. 

Not the parents, not the friends, not the toxicity of the online environment. *Just us.*

Empathy hurts compassion is constructive.  As for me how am i doing.  Im going through tremendous personal upheaval and self growth and change. Im a mixture of mourning, resolve and fear.  But the answer is i hurt a lot these days and am missing dreadfully two people that i love and care about more than anything in the world.  I have good moments where i feel intrepid and hopeful.  And i have moments where i break down and cry. 

My life is always messed up. So, I am usually busy getting side tracked because of some family issue, or a career blow back or something and trying to get back to where I want myself to be.

Getting back on track and then losing my flow again and again, I forget to check on my family, friends and other people who I care about.

Reading your post, I realised that I should ask others too what's going on in their life. Maybe someone is going through harder times than me and need my support.

I know that I have ignored a lot of my friends, and because of my ignorance, I barely talk to any of them now.

Hope that I can handle myself in the future and get back to that funny kid I always used to be.

> I think we have to be more engaged in being open, to be a support, a little more giving, a little less stingy with our time.

That's where I find meaning in my life. To just be a support. To help! <3

Ears are good and so are eyes when it comes to reading. While I write somewhat about personal issues I tent to keep the things that weight the heaviest to myself. Sometimes I wonder if this is because I don't want to bother others, don't think my problems are worth much when compared to others or because I don't want to think them out loud, even to myself.

But I can listen, and read, and, hopefully, show compassion where it is needed.

First, although I have never seen the difference in empathy and compassion, I agree to make it. Second: I am fine, within what is possible in a country like Venezuela and in circumstances like those experienced by the world in general. And third: with your publication I realized how little I have communicated with my friends. I have been so involved in my affairs that I have not had the opportunity to talk to them for a long time. Obviously I have sent them a message, a joke, a video, but I have settled for the cordial and polite "I'm fine", as a quick response. Perhaps there are times when we feel that delving into the response can be tricky, especially if we are not in the mood or don't have the time.  Anyway, I think I'll make a few calls today. Happy weekend, @tarazkp

Nice

This compassion fits right here on Hive as well. While most people don't have time to engage with others in the comments, some do and they are very well remembered in the long run.

A friend's brother emigrated and the brother sold his BMW car to me.
A very good car that served me for many years, but one day on the way back from a long trip, the car suddenly overheated and stopped with clouds of steam escaping from the motor.
So I hitched a ride home and had the car towed in to a repair center.
That car was never the same again  I eventually almost gave it a way at a cheap price.

To me personally, there are many lessons in this story. Firstly, the guys that worked on the car was not BMW experts. So now that I have reached the age where things start packing up, like the BMW, I am only allowing expert "mechanics" to work on me.  At a great cost of course, but we grimace and bear it.
Yes, I have knee replacement and a spine fusion operations waiting for me, but we are currently supporting a family who's dad had a liver transplant and there's another guy fighting against death while waiting for a suitable lung donor.

You are so right in saying that it's easy to focus on our own struggles, but there is always someone out there that are so much worse off than what we are.
I admire your thoughts and actions to support others with a listening ear, as most times that is all that some are desperately needing. Just a sounding board to clear their inhibitions and fears.
We are all in this together and we hope that your own health situations will improve.