Chapter 11: Henslin; Sympathy in Everyday Life

When feeling sympathy for someone you should always take in mind that you are listener and not the teller. Always give sympathy and make them feel like it is okay to be upset or angry. You have no idea what they are going through and you should be there to listen. Everyone goes through things just like you do and to be someones outlet to release their stress should be a wonderful thing for you because it lets you know that you can be trusted and can help someone in need. You shouldn’t show your feelings other than that you care and are listening to them, that will make them feel safe. I personally believe that you should show sympathy for someone no matter the situation. As I said before you have no right to judge them. You have no idea what they are going through and that should be the only thing that matters is them. You don’t owe anyone sympathy what so ever, but it shows a lot about who you are as a person. People may say that no one shows any sympathy towards them so why should I show sympathy back? The reason you should is because with an attitude like that you will never get sympathy given. Who knows that one person you show sympathy towards can be the one person to show it back to you when you have a problem. Showing sympathy is a great gift to give and yes some people may not want your sympathy but at least they know you care about their situation and they can somewhat feel important.