True empathy means that you don’t just feel badly for the pain of another, but you actually feel that person’s pain. This video beautifully demonstrates how this wonderful friend, Casey Unger, figures out how to give in a way that both exemplifies his empathy and provides an opportunity for his friend, Crystal Melero, to experience a hockey game in a way that she can fully enjoy. In Hebrew, the word for “empathy” is “rachmanut, and its root is “rechem” which means “womb.” This teaches us that empathy is the ability to be other-centered. To focus fully on the needs of the other. He easily could have just told her what was going on, but by allowing her to “feel” her way through the game, it provides her with an added level of participation.
(Header Image Credit: WFAA TV)
