Definition Of Sympathy

I was four years old, surrounded by the voices of family member catching up, telling each other about their jobs, kids, and just life in general. Smells of Christmas cookies and a roasting turkey were lingering in the air, and I was itching with anticipation of the gift exchange that was about to take place. Finally, my grandma announced that it was time to do the gift exchange, and all of my cousins, aunts, uncles, and people that I frankly had never met before but was told I was related to came rushing around the Christmas tree. Lit up with beautiful lights, bows, and ornaments, the tree was surrounded with shiny presents wrapped in huge bows. I sat next to my cousin, Sarah, who was less than a year younger than me. After watching many family
Not the literal word, of course, but the actual meaning. When my grandpa passed away, I received sympathy in various forms. From getting sympathy cards and hugs from family and friends to words of encouragement and support during a tough time, people demonstrated the meaning of sympathy in a plethora of different ways. Sympathy is defined by dictionary.com as “the fact or power of sharing the feelings of another, especially in sorrow or trouble; fellow feeling, compassion, or commiseration”. Sympathy is not just a feeling; it is the power of sharing feelings. The power of sharing feelings is so much stronger than feelings themselves, as sympathy gives us the ability to relate with people on a different level, to put ourselves in another person’s shoes and feel their pain, struggles, and
Sympathy is the reason people feel the need to act, to help people in need. Sympathy is the reason for heartbreak, even when it is not from something you are going through, but something someone else is going through. Sympathy is putting yourself in someone else’s shoes. Feeling their pain. Feeling their hurt, sadness, and despair. Everyone has felt sympathy at some point in their life, whether it was feeling the pain of someone who lost a loved one, giving in to an animal begging for food, or paying for the meal of a family at a restaurant. The reality is that we are all human beings, capable of feeling sympathy towards each other, relating to one another’s