Being empathetic is generally considered to be a positive in modern society, and within Buddhism. But Ajahn Brahm takes a different perspective on empathy, pointing out that often our empathy is directed to the negative feelings of others. There is a time and place for this, but we need to keep this in balance and also take some time to get some space away from the world to find calm and stability within.
Teachings are available for downloading from the BSWA Youtube Channel, the BSWA Podcast, and Deeper Dhamma Podcast.