When multiple people in your linage gets murdered in a small community this far back it gets amplified and the effect is massive over generations. It's been a lot to sit with.

This now makes for 3/4 great grandparent trees barely escaping being killed in the Great Wrath - considering the 4th is from the Torne Valley it's pretty safe to say all 4 survived it without finding evidence of specific attacks survived (yet).

The effect on my 7th-9th generation tree for my two grandparent's lines from this affected area are absolutely devastating - both because of the direct blood loss, but also the loss of what otherwise would have been ancestors.

My 9th great grandparents, 8th great grandfather, a 7th great uncle and his wife - all slaughtered, and burned.

I lost additional 7-9th great grandparents, and uncles. The two youngest being 8 and 12.

My 8th great grandmother had already died a year prior to the attack, her son was likely away, his wife to be was present and survived, so they lived and could have my 6th great grandma two years later, her husband to be was only 3 years old at the time of the attack and likely spared because of it.

Empathy, and especially empathetic skill, requires differentiation.

Sympathy is caring, aligning with etc - it's not a skill, though, obviously can be refined in terms of ethics, alignment, preference etc. 6/6

Being an "emotional sponge," reactively taking on other's emotions, isn't empathy - in babies and young children it's an empathy precursor, but it's not developed empathy. This kind of emotional trigger/overwhelm *can* be due to trauma in an adult - but, again, it isn’t what Empathy is. 5/6

and therefore experience, another's experience/feeling. To skillfully do that it requires self-knowledge and differentiation. 4/6

I go by the definition that Empathy is a neutral skill that normally does come with care, but is not synonymous to it. I view Empathy as partially synonymous to understanding - but with emotional and somatic empathy it requires an ability to simulate, 3/6

There are multiple ways Empathy and Sympathy gets used, and they're sometimes colloquially used synonymously but I saw someone call Empathy a trauma response, and Sympathy a skill you build up - this is a complete distortion of the concepts, and is pathologizing Empathy. 2/6

2 Corinthians 11 (LSB)
14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is not surprising if his ministers also disguise themselves as ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.

Jesus consistently models and teaches empathy.

If in doubt: Luke 10:25-37 a man asks for clarifications on this highest commandment in Matt 22:37-40, who is your neighbor? The answer is everyone is your neighbor, including your enimies: you are to show them mercy.