A viewer asks: “The feeling and concept of love is never far from the conversation when the topic is empathy. Is it even possible to develop genuine empathy without love?”

This is an interesting twist in the discussion here. The ability to sense what another is feeling is an intuitive capability. It does not predispose any particular personal reaction in terms of feelings because it might be in the form of a knowing rather than a bodily sensation that could link more directly to an emotional response. Empathy by definition implies the expression of love feelings, a concern about what another person is going through and, as such, is an expression of love from a divine perspective. So the ability to have an empathic sense of what a person is experiencing through a highly intuitive sensing is not always in direct proportion to love. Many times the empathic individual will be picking up discord and unpleasantness from others. This does not give rise to feelings of love at all as the empath may recoil again and again from being bombarded by negativity. So there is a distinction between sensing and reacting to what one perceives. In a sense, the empath has a kind of vulnerability. It is a divine perspective to always think about what another is experiencing, what they may be going through, and respect their sovereignty. To share the experience with them is often inappropriate. It is not necessary to feel someone’s pain directly in order to understand they are hurting and to exhibit caring and tend to them lovingly. It is not necessary to suffer along with someone to show loving concern and to be of assistance. It is often as much a liability as an asset. It can be excellent motivation. But having two sufferers is not better than having one to deal with. So empathy can be taken to an extreme.