The Path to Empathy

My primary interest have been in the areas of philosophy psychology metaphysics quantum physics and history. These have always been fundamental although it's only been in recent years that they have become more defined and as they became defined I am better able to consciously direct my inquiries. In prior years this was a matter of seeking the truth where I thought it could be found and that was of a religious nature, and being an American, Christianity seemed to be the most logical place to start. But I had always been a free thinker and always directed my own course and though I took advice and studied what was prescribed it was always with a bit of independence and openness to things beyond the scope prescribed. This turned out to be a point of contention with religious authority as religion is doctrinal and to go beyond doctrine and accept things which are extra doctrinal leaves one open to accusations of heresy if not outright demonic influence. This has never been much of a concern to me as I have never actually sought a position which depended on sustenance and income from ecclesiastical sources. The idea of God, if God is actually God, meant to me that this divine entity whatever it may be would sustain me whatever the situation. This is something I still believe although just what it may entail and has entailed is something I may not have stepped into had I known exactly what I was getting myself into, although the sustenance needed was always there. I'm sure there are those who would argue that such sustenance is in reality negligible by standards generally accepted. But these standards are not necessarily real standards, they are arbitrary at best, and by my estimation self-defined and convenient excuses not to rely on the God one claims exists.

I have been homeless, and taking care of myself and have relied on resources provided by others concerned for my welfare and the welfare of others in similar situations. I have never had to resort to anything criminal or of a nature which would make me ashamed of what I am as a human being.

I am of a mind one never really fully understands another's situation until one has actually had to live experiencing like circumstances. I'm sure there are those who disagree, and some truly do care. Sympathizing and empathizing are two different things and very seldom is it possible to empathize without actually experiencing. To emphasize is a gift whereas sympathy may be learned or even one may be guilted into becoming sympathetic . Empathy is to actually know what the less fortunate experiences.

For whatever reason, whether it be my own stubbornness or something divinely implanted, I have had to live a life which gave me an insight to the realities and experiences of a class of people most of society snubs their noses at . Being such as I am and having a faith that I do, though many might deny such a faith actually exists, I do not believe I have just been stuck out here to experience these things just to be forgotten . I do not know what God is, the only thing I'm sure of, if there is a God, is it does not fit into the contemporary Judeo-Christian conception. But that does not negate the reality of the divine, it only means the church hasn't figured it out, and may not have had it right for the past two thousand years . Living in a situation where the only thing that you have is God, for lack of a better term, you begin to realize there's something about this divine reality which is what has been stated but not exactly the way everyone would want you to believe it.

In more recent years I have explored writings which would be considered anathema and at the very least heretical by contemporary orthodoxy. But I have found as much truth there as there is and possibly even more then there is in Orthodox Scripture. Some of these were originally rejected by the church, and some are from other world religions. Yes there is a striking parallel between many of these Scriptures and the Orthodox canon. Orthodoxy has a way excusing these or writing them off as works of the devil. Unfortunately I have found this to be a convenient cop out, a ploy of the ignorant, of those unwilling or too lazy to do the work, the research to investigate the truth of the subject. Orthodox Christianity and those who seem to adhere to it so strenuously tends to rely on its own resources to the rejection of all others which do not fit some approved Orthodox criteria as established by themselves.

Though I do think a certain level of discernment and intelligence is necessary to judge the validity of resources I do not believe that simply by claiming something is Orthodox or Christian, or being declared by some established Christian organization is a valid qualification of whether a resource is worthy or not. Unfortunately in too many cases a person or an organization may be biased and unable to provide an objective assessment. It must also be recognized that this is not a religious or a Christian problem, it is a human problem. Human beings have a tendency to support whatever it is that is most like what they have already accepted. The truth or untruth of the matter is irrelevant, what matters is the status quo.