Drunken Wasps

These are the drunken wasps we get every Fall.  They don't arrive in a stupor.  They come here specifically to achieve it.  They get loopy off fermented crab apples.  I think there are 5 in this picture, but I have counted up to 7 on one crab apple.  The apples are maybe 1.5 inches across.  They are funny when they are done, too.  They stumble around the woodpile, make a few lazy attempts at flight, and then crash to the ground to sleep it off.  

I bring this up for two reasons: it is silly and every species does stupid things.  Not just primates.  Not that this makes risky behavior excusable.  It doesn't make it ok or acceptable or even tolerable.  Some of the wasps never get up off the ground after the merry-making.   It just makes it understandable.  And as tempted as I am to sing the Press Conference Rag from Chicago for you right now I won't.  (You're welcome, because that one can get stuck in your head for days.  Feel free to find it on You Tube but don't say I didn't warn you.)  Back to my point; this is the essence of empathy, I guess.  You can see someone and consider their situation and connect with their motivation as well as their emotion.  

A strong sense of empathy is a good thing.  In fact it is a great thing.  But I also find that it gets a one-sided reputation.  It is not sympathy, though I have noticed people who can define the difference still treat it that way.  As if the only result of an empathetic consideration is to feel sorry for someone.  There are only two people on this planet that I hate above all else.  Should ill befall them I might give a little cheer.  Maybe host a party.  Certainly do a little dance in fancy underpants.  (If you have to ask it is not you.  If it was you, you would know for certain!  BTW, the third member of the list died in a fiery plane crash.  No joke.  There's karma-phala for you.)  I have given each of them a massive amount of consideration.  I believe I understand their motivations and emotions.  It makes me loathe them.  But empathy also allows me to answer questions that would otherwise plague me and then let them go.  

I even turn inward and look at myself with empathy now.  That is something I have learned over time.  Much of that has come through my yoga practice.  (Have I told you how much I love my Yogis?  I like them, admire them, and genuinely love them.  I would tuck them in my pocket too!)  But I think we need a different word for it.  Something that describes the ability to consider your own motivations and emotions.  A term that covers an honest assessment of your present tense and to understand how your past has colored this moment in time.  A word that covers learning from your mistakes and your triumphs so your future is a better place to live.  Mepathy.  

P.S. With that title were you maybe expecting pictures from this summer's RNC? :)