COMPATHY

KOM-pa-thee -- (n.) Feelings of joy or sorrow shared with another.

Compathy is a surprisingly rare word for what it describes. The Latin prefix 'com' ('together) merges with the Greek suffix 'pathy' (suffering or feeling) to create a word that stands apart from its etymological cousins Empathy and Sympathy. Sympathy is when one feels sorry FOR someone, Empathy describes putting oneself in another's shoes and feeling pity. Nuances aside, Empathy and Sympathy have more than just pity in common -- they both require a BYSTANDER--that is, someone looking on and feeling for another person. Compathy is a far more personal sentiment in that it takes the bystander part out and describes an outright SHARING of emotions-- joyful or sorrowful--with another person, not just standing alongside and feeling for them. Compathy is feeling joy or sorrow in unison with another's joy and sorrow, a mirroring of sentiment in another being that is deeply and authentically felt.

~Wordeby's by CR

🦋 ART: "At the Cafe" (1909) by Felix Vallotton

🦋 STYLE: Intimism

🦋 More on Felix Vallotton: https://www.wikiart.org/en/felix-vallotton