Others have pasts and pain just like you.

Below is a link to a post from a neat blog that I follow.
Carl Jung Depth Psychology: The Chaotic Currents of Life

The content is brief but poignant. Carl Jung reminds us in the quote that everyone alive suffers. Sure, this is nice to remember during our own times of pain so that we know we are not alone, but I think this simple fact has even greater implications. If we find ourselves listening to our neighbor talk about his or her pain and not accepting it as real or legitimate, we should tread with extreme caution. When someone trivializes another's pain, it only fingers an open wound.

It is very easy to feel like the biggest or even the only victim of life's sometimes unfair and unpredictable nature, and then trivialize the pain of our brothers and sisters. I have seen this brand of ignorance all too often. We should remember to be humble, remember that we are in our own bag of skin, looking out at the world from our own set of eyes, with our own past, unable to feel the emotions of others as they experience them. For this reason, being judgmental of the magnitude of another's problems or pain is neither fair nor wise.


Remembering and accepting this simple fact in Jung's quote can allow us to deepen and broaden our empathic capacity. Then, as we become less fixated on validating the severity of our own issues and getting wrapped up in our own problems, we will have the emotional energy to consider the pain of others. If we practiced this, a more loving culture would gradually emerge in which everyone receives empathy and comfort in moments of distress. It is a slow build. One person at time, just one person at a time...

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