Two phrases come to mind this morning: “Fear not” and “He had compassion on them.” The former are words commonly attributed to Jesus in the gospels, the latter phrase is applied to his movements.

I’m not quite certain if the removal of fear leads to compassion or if the addition of compassion removes fear.  This much I do know: when one is motivated by fear, the potential for empathy disappears.  And if you have not love…

People understand fear as a motivator.  Compassion, on the other hand, is routinely misinterpreted.  If you want to be understood in the shallowest sense, write placards displaying your deepest fears, the erosion of this or that.  Fear is an easy evangelist, but it always concludes.  The fear is stomped out, or it wins out; either way, by victory or by defeat, there is an end to a specific set of fears.

Compassion will cost you the understanding of the masses, but the songs of the masses are more lonely than they appear.  Empathy extends loyalty by proving itself trustworthy.  It is not an easy sale; not at all like fear.  Empathy requires that you keep showing up.  It doesn’t fit on a sign.  When it creeps into the news everyone notices and thinks, “I wish I could do something like that.  When I get rich…  When I have time…”

Really empathy is much easier than that.  It begins with observation, and is carried out through action.  Fear is the imitation borne of observation and reaction.  Where fear concludes, empathy continues.

Tomorrow, perhaps I will tell you the simple story behind this morning’s thoughts.  Maybe not.  We’ll all wait and see.