Now your (imaginary) dog. You get empathy from your dog not compassion. Well, I don't actually know and this is the problem. Your dog may truly believe that it is showing you empathy and feeling exactly the same as you and doing what is necessary to help and yet, you deny it. Thinking we know the feelings of a dog and its intentions is a little silly. So this is the same issue with believing we can hold the same position as another human.
Your wife (sounds like a saint :D ) may make you feel better about what ever troubles you but it doesn't necessarily help the cause of your troubles. She may have no actual value in helping you problem solve other than helping you feel better about yourself and then perhaps you can fix it but, why are we unable to emotionally make ourselves feel better? And then, now that you are feeling good, what if you are still unable to repair it and need practical help? Depressed again? Does another empathetic pat on the back help?
A compassionate person need not feel anything but can still understand that you feel something and can therefore comfort based on that. Plus, from this position they are also able to better help or find help for you.
I think that people want to feel better, not actually improve the situation. This is why so many people can avoid their problems by immersing themselves in entertainment or vice. eventually though, a crash will come.
I think that this conflation of terms is making people confuse what is actually going on and as society keeps pushing incorrect definitions, people increasingly use two very separate terms interchangeably.
I like it when you drop by because I know you are here to discuss what is actually at hand. As you know, I like to think and write across many areas whether I hold this position in 5 years or tomorrow, who knows.
If I don't say these things, she beats me (just kidding!) Haha. Seriously, she really is the best person for me. I am still trying to figure out how I got this lucky and doing my best to be the type of partner she deserves (or better)!
Thanks :) I like stopping by and chatting with you, too! You tend to bring up interesting topics/perspectives for conversation and I have always enjoyed hearing the perspectives of others and trying to understand more about them.
Haha, I know exactly what you mean. My current perception is not the same as what it was a few years ago (and in some cases I can say minutes ago).
Life is about constantly adjusting to your surroundings (I am pretty sure you posted about that topic recently too!). As part of the adjustment, you need to be open to learning new things and absorbing information about the people around you and how they act/react to their surroundings.
Back on topic a bit.. I feel like I learned in grade school that you couldn't get empathy from a pet? (based on the Webster's definition of the word). It is possible that I am misremembering or that I was taught incorrectly.. just a random thought that popped into my head.