Empathy Vs Hate
Human emotions are usually quite difficult to apprehend, understand, describe and imbibe. Of all those, the two emotions that have always left me wondering are hate and empathy. How they occur, how they coexist, who is the overpowering alpha?
Hate
They say hate is the strongest, most extreme emotion to have. One should keep this emotion at bay. But the question is, is it in our power? Can we voluntarily keep it aloof? Are we capable of shutting that emotion out?
Empathy
What about empathy? Humans are supposed to be empathetic by nature. That we are born with this virtue. But have we nurtured it enough? Have we consciously practised it enough?
The Alpha
The answers to all these questions come to light when there is a clash of both these emotions at the same time. Picture someone you hate. This person is highly intolerable and given a chance you wouldn’t want to see this person ever. Now, someday you get to know that, the said person is going through a rough phase and highly vulnerable. Would you feel empathetic or would your hate overpower and make you feel good about the person’s suffering?
However much you try, somewhere down the line, the answer will always be the latter. We have given hate so much power over the rest of our emotions, it almost triumphs every single time. It overshadows our natural instincts and feelings. It’s unnerving but true.
Solution?
How do we solve this then? Well, it’s all in the mind, they say. Here’s a practice that could help-
Meditate deeply and find your core emotions.
Separate them into positive and negative emotions.
Write the things, people, places, etc. that you attribute with each of those emotions.
Read these every day and add to the list, as and when you discover newer core emotions.
Practice and nurture the positive ones and try letting go of the negative ones.
In Conclusion…
It is difficult to let go of negatives and accept and practice the positives, but it is necessary for the bigger picture called life! If we make a conscious practice routine, we can improve at this and gradually feel better, more positive, towards life, others and ourselves. It provides a peace of mind which we all seem to have lost.
Let me know your views on the same and whether this mind technique is something that works for you!
