| Pain and Empathy I live a pretty pain free life. I'm fortunate to have good health. There are aches and pains and soreness and physical frustrations that occur, especially as I get older, but I take no medications and live pain free most of the time. Please don't feel I take this for granted or am trying to brag or anything. I just lucked out somehow. But this last week I had a toothache. Back top left. And there were times it was so painful that I couldn't even think. There were a few times I was dizzy and delirious with pain. I finally got into the dentist. X-rays. Nothing to be seen. He asked about my sinuses. Yes, I do have sinus issues right now. The roots of one of my molars... the painful one... goes into my sinuses. So he put me on an antibiotic and told me to keep taking over the counter sinus medication and let him know in a few days how it's going. He was right. After a few days the pain subsided and I can function again. (This is why this letter is late coming LOL.) I have a lot of friends who experience chronic pain. When something like this happens to me I think of them. And I wonder how in the world they manage. How they sustain themselves. How they cope. How they get anything done or even think a thought. Empathy. It's the same watching my transgender friends in Texas right now freaking out over the threat of losing their kids because they're deemed child abusers. Of course they're freaking out. How do they get on with day to day life? Or the people in Ukraine under fire. To suddenly lose your home and have to scoop up whatever you can and flee. How can they live? Thoughts like these make me realize that the world cannot work without empathy. Empathy for those in pain. Empathy for those who are persecuted. Empathy for victims of war, abuse, violence, injustice, and so on. A toothache is nothing in comparison. But it sure can teach a lot. | 
