hurt

The book, Man's Search for Meaning, by Victor Frankl has been laying around our house because it is a source for Sadie's senior English paper. I have read the book a couple of times but remember upon first reading being struck by the following concept.

“To draw an analogy: a man's suffering is similar to the behavior of a gas. If a certain quantity of gas is pumped into an empty chamber, it will fill the chamber completely and evenly, no matter how big the chamber. Thus suffering completely fills the human soul and conscious mind, no matter whether the suffering is great or little." 

I think it's human nature to compare hurt, we discount a child's disappointment or brush off a teenage heartbreak because we think our life is harder. But hurt is hurt, and life is hard. I do not want to be the kind of person who measures the suffering of others, but rather, the kind of person who acknowledges suffering and softens its sting with empathy.