Be empathetic.
Webster's defines empathy as "the intellectual identification with or vicarious experiencing of the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another." In other words it is the ability to project yourself into a situation similar to the situation of another person, and be compassionate about that situation. It is not pity, which is more like sympathetic. Sympathy to someone who has come to you in suffering is more like a co-dependent situation where you become just as helpless as the sufferer in correcting the situation.
We are empathetic so we are not indifferent to the suffering of another. As a nurse we know your pain, and feel the gravity of the situation, however we are outside of it. Because we want YOU to be out of it as well. If both of us suffer neither can be well.
Empathy leads me to act, with kindness, compassion, to alleviate suffering. Empathy leads to mercy.
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If every step we take defines who we are... Why not chose health?
