Compassion or Empathy describes the human ability to 'suffer with' someone else. Derived from Latin Passio, the English word Passions is the term classically used in the Catholic tradition for feelings or emotions. Passions denote how we are affected by events, people and actions and how we are moved to respond emotionally in some way. So 'com-passion' means 'with-feeling'. Affective maturity entails being aware of, understanding, and correctly acting upon one's own emotions. Affective maturity also involves having a well-developed ability to know how others feel. A life lived wholeheartedly is a life in which compassion plays an important role. Healthy relationships require us to be sensitive to how our words and actions affect other people. If the goal of life itself is human flourishing then it has to be a goal for all people. So the ways in which we think, speak and act have implications for how other people feel and view themselves, their own dignity as persons, and the worth of the world around them. Pope Saint John Paul II, in an interpretation of the second account of creation found in Genesis, talks about the original solitude of the first human being. John Paul II argues that this original solitude or 'alone-ness', is something which is true for every human being and their existence as human persons. The human being is different from every other being in God's Creation. The human being alone is a rational being. John Paul II also points out, however, that this self-awareness of difference from the rest of Creation is the necessary condition for the recognition of other human beings as beings like oneself. Therefore, we could say that compassion, the ability to feel with other people, is something that arises out of our own sense of being alone. We cannot really feel what other people feel. We can only feel what we believe they could be feeling. This step requires us to acknowledge that others are somehow like us and at the same time are radically different from us because each human being is a unique and original subject. We are each 'alone' whilst simultaneously always already 'together'. Compassion is the key human ability that binds these solitary beings into a community that works together to achieve their mutual flourishing and happiness. A life lived wholeheartedly is only possible as a life lived together.29. Compassion or Empathy describes the human ability to 'suffer with' someone else. Derived from Latin Passio, the English word Passions is the term classically used in the Catholic tradition for feelings or emotions. Passions denote how we are affected by events, people and actions and how we are moved to respond emotionally in some way. So 'com-passion' means 'with-feeling'. Affective maturity entails being aware of, understanding, and correctly acting upon one's own emotions. Affective maturity also involves having a well-developed ability to know how others feel. A life lived wholeheartedly is a life in which compassion plays an important role. Healthy relationships require us to be sensitive to how our words and actions affect other people. If the goal of life itself is human flourishing then it has to be a goal for all people. So the ways in which we think, speak and act have implications for how other people feel and view themselves, their own dignity as persons, and the worth of the world around them. Pope Saint John Paul II, in an interpretation of the second account of creation found in Genesis, talks about the original solitude of the first human being. John Paul II argues that this original solitude or 'alone-ness', is something which is true for every human being and their existence as human persons. The human being is different from every other being in God's Creation. The human being alone is a rational being. John Paul II also points out, however, that this self-awareness of difference from the rest of Creation is the necessary condition for the recognition of other human beings as beings like oneself. Therefore, we could say that compassion, the ability to feel with other people, is something that arises out of our own sense of being alone. We cannot really feel what other people feel. We can only feel what we believe they could be feeling. This step requires us to acknowledge that others are somehow like us and at the same time are radically different from us because each human being is a unique and original subject. We are each 'alone' whilst simultaneously always already 'together'. Compassion is the key human ability that binds these solitary beings into a community that works together to achieve their mutual flourishing and happiness. A life lived wholeheartedly is only possible as a life lived together.