I can sympathize with my brother who hurt me, but I don’t seem able to have empathy for him (stepping inside his shoes, as the saying goes, and feeling what it is like inside of him.) Will I ever have compassion for him without empathy?

Not being able to empathize with your brother today does not mean you will never be able to do this.  Empathy can open the door to compassion.  Sympathy, or feeling sorry for him, also may be such a door to the eventual development of compassion.  Yet, as you are seeing, empathy is the deeper, more challenging perspective.  Here are some questions that might help you with empathy toward your brother:  Was your brother hurt by others some time in the past?  How deeply was he hurt?  Is he still carrying those wounds?  Can you see your brother’s struggles in life?  Your answers may induce a greater empathy for him as you see his wounds from his perspective.

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