the one who feels pity has an implicit negation of empathy inside when he declares that he would not like to be in the other's place... this generates distanced, humiliating attitudes and reinforces in the other the feeling of incapacity and lack of courage to face the difficult situation in which he finds himself.

compassion, on the other hand, requires empathy towards the pain of the other. And to be empathetic we need to put ourselves at the level of the other... understand their problem as if it were with us, as we enter the universe of the difficulty of another with compassionate eyes, we automatically believe that there is a fully attainable solution, reinforcing the self-esteem of our fellow man.