empathy & emotions

What is empathy?
Put simply, it's having the heart to feel for another's pain.

Although I have been in social work, I separate Empathy and Emotions.
I am able to empathise, without being emotional.
Some people are so full of empathy, that they are able to get teary-eyed. BUT crying at deaths of strangers, does not mean we have lots of empathy - it simply means we are emotional.

For a bottom line person, crying never does resolve anything for anyone. Finding a solution does. When Empathy is in gear, and emotions are on a high, then the correct solution may be clouded from vision.

It doesn't matter if we are not able to express our deep-felt emotions openly. Of course, for some others, it may seem cold-hearted or even abnormal to be non-reactive, so to speak.
BUT with non-reaction, comes calm. With calm, the mind is able to think clearly and make the correct decision. When rain beats down hard on the windscreen, visibility drops, even when the wiper is in use. It may not be the best of examples, but I'm sure the point is clear.

We are inhuman if we cannot empathise.
BUT just because we are not emotional, doesn't make us cold-hearted, it just means we are stronger emotionally and probably more practical than most.