Compassion’s Greek root means “to feel with.’
In the Greek myth of a wounded healer, Hercules accidentally scratched his friend, Chiron, with the point of a poisoned arrow that had been used to destroy the monster Hydra. There was no antidote for the poison and no way to ease Chiron’s pain or heal the wound. This injury, caused by carelessness rather than any deliberate act of violence, transformed Chiron. With no escape from the pain (he couldn’t even die because he was immortal), he chose to find meaning in his suffering through healing others.
He came to know everything about pain in his efforts to alleviate his own– then he brought that knowledge to help others with their pain.
Everyone I know carries the potential to be like Chiron. When the pain is severe (as it is for many now and perhaps always is), help and compassion are critical.