Eight, Compassion, Not Empathy

We often think of our capacity to experience the suffering of others as the ultimate source of goodness. Jealousy is a selfish emotion, one that does not serve the greater good in the slightest. When we're feeling overly emotional, it is helpful to gain additional perspective by involving the reasoning of a grounded outside party. If you complain about the same thing as some one else, or gossip about another person, it increases your bond with your fellow complainer. There's an old saying that hurt people hurt people. And that's what's happening whenever we walk around fecting the world with negativity.