Mercy

​Mercy
There were three words I have been interested enough to have a look into today. I knew there was a difference but could not have said what is was. For me it was important I knew the difference. Mercy, compassion, empathy.
I read something about mercy I really like. “Mercy is a broad term that refers to benevolence, forgiveness, and kindness” or the Cambridge dictionary puts it this way “kindness that makes you forgive someone, usually someone that you have authority over:”
It seems to me mercy is shown to someone who is powerless to reciprocate. In the normal course of events a boss can show mercy to an employee, but an employee cannot show mercy to a boss. A sentence I read really highlighted the difference to me between mercy and compassion. “One can show mercy without feeling compassion. A judge can show mercy by offering a more lenient sentence because he feels great public pressure to do so, not because he necessarily feels compassion for the defendant.”
Compassion on the other hand has more of a feeling element. It comes from a Latin word meaning “co-suffering.” As with every emotion or feeling we experience there is a physical reaction that shows compassion kicking in. “…when we feel compassion, our heart rate slows down, we secrete the “bonding hormone” oxytocin, and regions of the brain linked to empathy, caregiving, and feelings of pleasure light up, which often results in our wanting to approach and care for other people.” (https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/compassion/definition)
Thankfully, compassion seems to be rife in our society. So much experienced in life does not bring out the best but when someone is in trouble for many all else is forgotten and aid is given.
I could have given a rough picture of the difference between compassion and empathy but I thought Wikipedia put it so well. “"compassion" is Latin, meaning "co-suffering." Compassion involves "feeling for another" and is a precursor to empathy, the "feeling as another" capacity…” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compassion)
It seems to me empathy is less common, but it is out there. I like how “Verywell Mind” describes empathy “Empathy is the ability to emotionally understand what other people feel, see things from their point of view, and imagine yourself in their place. Essentially, it is putting yourself in someone else's position and feeling what they must be feeling.” (https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-empathy-2795562) I may be wrong and I am just thinking out loud but it seems to me compassion says “I will help that person because there is a mess and I can do something about it,” while empathy says “I want to help that person because there is a mess and I know if it were me I would appreciate help.” Compassion relates. Empathy personalizes.
To me, looking up such words as mercy, compassion and empathize matters. I only need to turn on the news to see the opposites at work and to get my blood pressure up. Why is it that “good news” is given a special section in the news. My experience is it is because the news emphasizes the bad news. Good news is not as rare as it is made out to me. There are numerous people that care.