“Wisdom ceases to be wisdom when it becomes too proud to weep, too grave to laugh, and too selfish to seek other than itself.”

—  Kahlil Gibran
Is there wisdom in being able to rise above human emotion and dispassionately analyze the situation at hand?  How often do we see the predicament of another person and pity their plight while assuring ourselves that we would be too smart to land in such a mess?  It sometimes seems that we value the ability to stay in our heads and leave our hearts out of our interactions with others.  We pity them, but offer only suggestions for how they might untangle the mess they have made before we go on our way.  Pity is cold and sterile and perfunctory, and we often mistake it for compassion; but the two are not even close to the same.
Compassion, or feeling with, is a powerful gift that being human prepares us to share with others.  When we weep with those who weep, they know instantly that there is no shame in shedding tears.  When we laugh with those who laugh, we show them by our example that being serious does not mean losing our sense of humor and delight.  When we truly listen to another person’s hopes and dreams and ideas and aspirations, we affirm our shared humanity by celebrating their importance as well as our own.
Pity is smart.  It can analyze and categorize and judge the human failings that have led a person to the predicament he faces.  Compassion is wise.  It shares and feels and wraps a sense of unity around the hurt of another and celebrates the truth that together we can overcome whatever challenges come our way.