According to Bennett:

There are two conflicting forces when determining actions: sympathy and morality.

Sympathy is a natural, unavoidable feeling of affinity for someone/something that makes us want to act in a certain way. Affinity is a general term, and many different feelings are qualified under it.

Morality is what we believe to be the "right" thing to do. One may argue that morality is objective or subjective; that there are certain right and wrong things that have existed forever or that it changes with culture and individual, but that is irrelevant to personal choice. Individually, it is merely what we believe to be right.

To paraphrase some examples, Heinrich Himmler allowed his belief of what was right (his "morality") to govern his decision to order the deaths of millions in WWII. Huckleberry Finn allowed his sympathy to override Missouri "morality" when he helped his negro friend escape to the North.

And so, it is a constant battle to balance these tendencies when making decisions. Following morality too closely when it diverges from our natural feelings will result in an empty soul, and allowing feelings to govern when morality should hold sway results in a lack of willpower and unwise decisions.

I've found that, in my life, I have followed feelings too closely. In my attempts to be moral, I have ignored the possibility that what I feel is right and what is right for that which is outside myself do not coincide. For a person whose childhood was comprised of "follow your heart" and "do what feels good" and "respect others" and "truth is paramount to happiness", this concept is pretty groundbreaking. There's never been a connection between the two, other than confusion over things that feel right but are reacted to as if they were wrong, and vice versa.

This is not only important to myself. Those of us who are or have gay or bi friends, or question their religion, or are dredging themselves out of the ditch of depression; these people find this concept relevant.

I can't offer any reconciling plan between sympathy and morality. Sometimes, however, realizing that there is reason for the discord that threatens happiness is enough to put it at bay.