Is My Sympathy Sincere?

During the pandemic, much of our responses were sympathetic. We felt for those who were personally affected by the disease whether they themselves were infected and sick with it, or whether ones close to them were sick as well. I personally was sympathetic and still am to those who are affected by the pandemic. Much of the sympathy I feel is towards those who have lost friends or family members to the disease. However, while I am sympathetic, I believe I am still lacking in that sympathy. While my life was affected by the pandemic through areas such as work and social situations, I have not been affected in the sense that I nor anyone I know has died from the disease. So while I am sympathetic it is almost like a shallow sympathy.

My response to much of what has been happening in the past year is just a shallow response like, “that is sad” or “I hope this goes away soon.” After recognizing my shallow sympathy, I realized that with these responses, there can be more. For a situation like this, sympathy has to be sincere. It cannot just be words of affirmation and then moving on. By putting in the time to actually understand what people are going through and listening to what people have to say about their own personal experiences, we will be able to become more sincerely sympathetic.