Learning About Sympathy

I little over a year ago I lost my grandpa to cancer. I had lost a grandparent before, but this was much more difficult for me. I was closer to him. But the really sad thing for me was to see how it affected the family. I didn't know what to say to comfort my mom, aunts and most of all my grandma. I didn't really do anything as far as giving memorial gifts, flowers or cards. I didn't really think about it at the time.

At about the same time a close friend of mine suffered a miscarriage. I actually had two friends who miscarried with in a couple months of each other. It was a little awkward for me since I was pregnant at the time. Our babies would have been born around the same time.

It was getting a little depressed with all this heartache going on around me. I was sad for these people that I cared about. The funny thing about all this is that the thing is that I was most troubled by the fact that I hadn't done anything in response to the suffering of my friends and family.

I think this was the beginning of my education about the importance of expressing sympathy.

Since this time I've found wonderful resources like My Forever Child, a perfect place to find a memorial a gift for grieving parents. I've learned the basics of empathetic listening, a must if you want to truly be a supportive friend.

The most important thing I've learned is that sympathy is best expressed in a simple and pure way. I think many people, myself included, get tripped up trying to make elaborate gestures of sympathy. Trying to find the perfect solution or way to fix somebody's pain and grief can really get in the way of actually doing something useful. If you are anything like me, you do the worst thing possible...
agonize over what to do for so long that you end up doing nothing!

Although the experience of wanting to find ways of comforting loved ones drove me to find out more, what really caused me to learn about expressing sympathy is that I decided to make a website about it.

I had come across Site Build It on this other lady's website, Shirley who has a really fun website about preschool activities. She had shared about her experience with Site Build It and I knew I had to try it. Site Build It helps you brainstorm a topic and after doing some research I knew this would make a great website.

If you've ever considered making your own website, I strongly encourage you to learn about Site Build It. I never would have been able to make this website, let alone make any substantial amount of money online, if it had not been for Site Build It. Click here to read about how I was able to create and make an extra income with this website.

I bet just like me, you have life experiences and know how that others could benefit from. Don't let the opportunity pass you by. You might not get another opportunity to do something meaning that you really care about and get paid for it! Site Build It is the best way to make a living by being you and sharing what you know with others...speaking of which, I'll get back to sharing about sympathy.

My Favorite Quotes About Sympathy

• "The more sympathy you give the less you need."
• "Sympathy gives immediate shelter to grief."
• "Sympathy is two hearts tugging at one load."
• "Sympathy is a supporting atmosphere, and in it we unfold easily and well."
• "Sympathy is the mother heart of humanity."
• "The secret of language is the secret of sympathy and it's charm is possible only to the gentle."
• "Next to love, sympathy is the divinest passion of the human heart."
• "Sympathy is never wasted except when you give it to yourself.

Do you have a favorite quote about sympathy or any wisdom to share about expressing sympathy? If so, please share it with us. We'd love to hear from you.

Back to Sympathy Quotes