Sympathy is a fleeting emotion, whereas empathy is a noble human quality born from the depths of the soul.
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“What makes a human truly human is not intelligence, but a heart that can feel the pain of others.”As a psychological counsellor who comforts people with emotional wounds, I have learned one profound truth. The greatest sickness in this world is selfishness, and the greatest cure for it is empathy. The very moment we begin to understand another person’s pain as if it were our own, the true beginning of humanity unfolds.In today’s world, people devote most of their attention to the demands of their own daily lives. As a result, their world gradually shrinks into the narrow circle of “myself and my family”. From a psychological perspective, a person’s true personality begins to develop only when they step beyond their self-centred thoughts and pay close attention to the suffering of others. Humanity comes alive within a person not when they merely see another’s pain with their eyes, but when they begin to feel it with their heart.Many people mistake showing sympathy for true humanity. However, there is a profound psychological difference between sympathy and empathy. Standing at a distance, seeing a starving person on the street, and saying, “Poor thing,” is merely sympathy. But placing yourself in that person’s shoes and truly feeling the pain of their hunger within yourself is empathy. Sympathy is a fleeting emotion, whereas empathy is a noble human quality born from the depths of the soul.Changing this selfish tendency lies entirely in the hands of the individual. This is possible not only for children but also for adults. Adults must learn to put themselves in other people’s shoes. When they develop the mental practice of perspective taking, understanding a fellow human being’s suffering and life circumstances as if they were their own experiences, the selfish tendencies within them gradually begin to fade. Deeply listening to the emotional pain of others without judgment or biases is one of the most valuable psychological practices for adults.At the same time, this psychological transformation must begin at the foundation. Therefore, we must raise our children from an early age by teaching them the noble human quality of empathy and the essential life skill of respecting the feelings of fellow living beings.Breaking free from the narrow prison of selfishness and feeling the pain of others with our hearts is the true and noble beginning of human life. No matter how many degrees we earn or how much wealth we accumulate, if we do not have a heart that understands another person’s pain, it means that humanity has not truly begun within us. A society that fails to feel the suffering of others will ultimately shrink into nothing more than a crowd of soulless, empty bodies.Therefore, let us realise that understanding another person’s pain is the true beginning of humanity. Let us wipe away the sorrows of our fellow human beings and live in this world as truly compassionate human beings.parveenhaji3@gmail.com Published - September 13, 2026 12:15 am IST
