Authentic Empathy vs Cynical Empathy

I can't seem to manage my time well since coming back from vacation. Maybe, on the flipside, I've taken to managing my time better since coming back. It really comes down to figuring out what I'm valuing at any time, mapping it out in time, then figuring out what's most important to do now verse doing down the road.

I'm sad that I've prioritized doing some things over political activism or even just other things that could lead to a more organized life that will lead to better control. My gauge for this feels especially triggered because the anniversary of Charlottesville and the murder of Heather Heyer caused by a protesting bigot emboldened by the election of [45] comes around in about two months. I had engaged politically for a few months after that. It didn't come to much, but I tried to do something.

Now I feel mostly battered down by the news I hear or when I'm scanning through Facebook (ironically, Twitter has provided more upbeatness. . .but I think that mostly comes from Twitter people have more battle scars from politics and social/cultural battles, though it can still get depressing). I've posted things about the need for self care, but have I become too indulgent in my self care. I don't feel like it, but I don't feel as if I have the energy to do much else, and feel some shame/guilt about it since I have some privilege that a lot of it doesn't affect me materially, but it definitely cuts away at my soul.

Admittedly, much of the "productive procrastinating" I've done has largely been about getting political and social things straight and defined in my head, much of it occurring through discussion on social media. Something about the vehicle of social media really pulls me into getting me to understand and be clear about the issues.

With the above in mind and to some advice I meant to publish in my essay series called "Increasing Creativity: Compounding...." ("Increasing Creativity Part 1: Compound Interest, An Applicable Financial Concept" and Increasing Creativity Part 2: Compounding Sources). I really need to get to completing "Increasing Creativity Part 3: Compounding Projects". . .. The advice boils down to: sometimes you don't have to do that huge project all at once, especially if it contains a bunch of building blocks. Doing it all at once will

1. Take you awhile to complete
2. Won't yield as much return

If you can write multiple articles/essays or books that build up to the larger argument, you can

1. Publish more
2. Get more exposure
3. Possibly get paid maore

In addition, if it works out well, you can "re-invest" the monetary, social, and information resource yields back into the project, which can make future work on it easier and possibly even help to get other aspects of life out of the way.

My last entry mentioned a large essay I had started working on before going on vacation a couple weeks ago. Since then I have remembered a term that I wanted to include in the essay, but I don't think has happened yet. I have also thought up a contrasting term that I think will have its use in the essay and in my future works, whether blog entries or hopefully someday published essays. So instead of defining these two terms in the future essay (though I might have to in an official off-blog published work if I ever do such a thing), I define them below:

• Authentic Empathy: A sense and/or appreciation that welcoming, supporting, and contribution to the flourishing of other living beings and natural living systems will lead to a reproducible sense of purpose, meaning, possibly joy and happiness, and can very likely assist in developing one's own identity. Authentic empathy will bring emotional attunement.
  
  
• Cynical Empathy: Manipulating or violating other living beings and natural living systems, the understanding of their feelings, motives, states of being, and thoughts, for personal gain, pleasure, compulsion for cruelty, or even for national security or emboldening group or identity solidarity rather than the purposes of authentic empathy, which will lead to endless toil, conflict, and/or if the manipulated or violated are ever obliterated or fully dominated, self destruction since the hatred of cynical empathy will look for fuel somewhere. Cynical empathy creates social discord.

As authentic empathy can provide reproducible sense of meaning and development, cyncial empathy will provide endless destruction and despair, constantly looking for new targets and, if it hasn't already, will turn on the source if it has no where else to go. Cynical empathy is not an identity, a purpose, or meaning. It is a strategy, one of maladaption.

As such, many bets are off with those who practice cynical empathy. For those who practice authentic empathy, they have the right to avoid those who practice cynical empathy. If someone can bear it who wants to take heroic means to practice authentic empathy and interact with those using cynical empathy, the authentic empaths should feel free to do what they can to help cynical empaths to see the benefits of authentic empathy and learn how to practice it.

Authentic empaths also have the right to defend themselves against cynical empaths but are not advised to do so in ways that compromises their authenticity. Self care is imperative. If they need to leave to maintain their authenticity, that's fine. Some cynical empaths may, in the end, never want to shed their cynicism and became authentic. The final decision is their's. All that can be done with authentic empathy is to try helping others to reach their full authentic potential.

Also, keep in mind that authentic empathy does not give someone the right to define others or to impose definitions onto others. That can be hostile and a form of violation. If another asks for assistance to help find definition, help but do not force. You're role is to welcome, support, and contribute, not to define.

Feel free to accept or decline my definitions for your life. You may need them to read my future works, however, so please familiarize yourself with them if you intend on continuing to read my work and have discussions with me.

I may discarding, edit, or refine this terminology in the future. For now, though, I think these terms will provide much assistance in my discussion and future works. Any chance it helps you?

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