Empathy...

...is one of the strongest ways that we connect with others, whether they are our friends or family, or people we've never even met or spoken to. It spans the divide between religions, races, and economic differences to tie people together in an emotional, psychological, and sometimes physical context. Empathy allows us to relate to one another and provides us with a support network that we don't realize exists most of the time--until we need it.

To reach out and touch someone, to comfort them with the words and the gesture of "I understand" is one of the most powerful feelings I can attest to. It's wonderful to have people care about you and what happens to you, but it's even better to have people to really understand and identify with what you're going through. Only these people can really know how you may be feeling, because they've been there before. We need more of this kind of people in our lives, just as we need our friends and family to be there for us. One person is not going to understand everything that you experience nor know why it upsets you, so we seek a multitude of people who are outside of our comfort realms to show us why it is that we feel a certain way. Sometimes we do it without thinking; sometimes without even knowing that we are connecting to another individual on the same emotion.

So I'd like to say this, to an almost perfect stranger...I know how you feel.
I'm right there with you. I can't promise it will be easy to deal with, or that it will get better soon, but it will get better.

To everyone who reads this, make an effort to find those you can reach out and touch when that comfort is needed--you never know what kind of connection you can make.