Tom: Do painful experiences serve any purpose?
Guru: Let me put it this way.
Tom: Which way?
Guru: Have you experienced real hunger?
Tom: No, I can’t say I have.
Guru: So, do you know what real hunger is like?
Tom: No, I can’t say I do.
Guru: How sympathetic are you towards people who are suffering from real hunger?
Tom: Only superficially, because their pain is not my pain.
Guru: Thank you for your honest answer. In fact, this is how the world leaders are responding to people who are suffering from real hunger, right?
Tom: Right, but why is this so?
Guru: Because they’ve never experienced real hunger.
Tom: You mean they’ll respond differently if they’ve actually experienced real hunger?
Guru: Yes, a painful experience gives us the benefit of understanding other people’s pain better.
Tom: So we can empathize with others better.
Guru: In fact, painful experiences make us better human beings.
Tom: Painful experiences make us more humane.
Guru: Painful experiences make us more enlightened.
(Extract from Tommy Wong's book, "Wisdom on How to Live Life - Book 2")
Dr. Tommy Wong is the author of the book series “Wisdom on How to Live Life”
