Sympathies

At this point in my life, and most others, I have seen my ability to empathize with others to be a golden key. What the hell what I thinking? This ability has held me more like a curse than like a gift. When you can truly get into the feelings of another, what then makes your position more weighted than another?
It has helped me though. I started bawling after I had accidentally closed a cage door on a rat's tail, clipping off the tip. In that instant, it became abundantly clear that it was time for me to find a new study population. .