What if Irony is Judging Others for Lacking Empathy?
What’s crushing
is less the hurdle
or challenge,
no matter how insurmountable
they may seem.
What’s crushing
is the feeling
that our actions
don’t matter,
that our efforts
don’t matter,
that we
don’t matter.
That we are helpless.
That it is hopeless.
When we feel
isolated
in our pain,
we can think that our pain
is unique.
No.
We can think that our pain
must be
unique.
…
Because we may think that
it is the only way,
we
can matter.
…
But when we feel
connected
with an other’s pain,
we may realize that our pain
is not unique.
No.
We may realize that our pain
need not be
unique.
Because we can see
that the pain of those
with whom we feel connected
matters
to us,
which means
so does our own pain,
by virtue
of the connection
in our pain.