I have been sitting on the word “pity” all weekend. I am not the kind of girl, that lets things go…although I wish I could. So it should be of absolutely no surprise to myself that I am sitting on something else.
I have always viewed the word “pity” to have a negative meaning to it. Something along the lines of “your life/situation is so terrible that there is nothing you can do to make it better, so you do nothing but cry about it”. Well I looked it up and darn the luck! I think I misused or misunderstood the word, that I thought carried such a negative meaning.
Pity:
a : sympathetic sorrow for one suffering, distressed, or unhappy b : capacity to feel pity
I think I can claim it, there are times when I have such extreme pity for my friend Kara. I have seen Kara struggle more than any one person should have to in their life time. BUT I have also seen Kara rise above. I don’t feel sorry for Kara because the honest truth I know she will rise above and she has. It’s a process.
I think the connotations of pity have moved and changed from the original intent and meaning of the word. I think, empathy, is an equivalent to what the dictionary meaning of the pity is. When I see or hear the word pity, there is a sense of detachment and sometimes even judgment, a sense that there is little to be done. Thank you for enlightening with your post.
Kina
I agree completely!