Day 3 - 166 -- Sharing

When I went for a short walk this afternoon, I encountered someone who lost their mother just after my own loss. I hadn't seen her over the past couple of months, so this was my first chance to tell her I was sorry for her loss. We exchanged the basic details and were able to take a few minutes to verbalize some of the emotions of the past little while. We aren't close but do see each other a few times throughout the year around campus. There seems to be no way around the pain, but having the chance to share a small bit with someone else going through something similar can help. I think it is part of the healing process and helps you to care for others while you work to care for yourself.

Commiserate is a cool word. It deals with sharing the feelings and usually involves negative feelings. Synonyms include sympathy and empathy -- those feelings for others -- feeling sorry and feeling their pain. Neither of those two words encompasses everything that I connote when I use commiserate. Use of that one word brings the main aspects of each of the other words if used in combination. So, while it is a polysyllabic word, commiserate can save a word or two <smile>.

The lyrics that came to mind are from a song by a Canadian artist. A few lines note how someone else can help us feel validated and less sad just by their actions. Enjoy!

Empathy -- Alanis Morissette