I've got this really good friend. She's going through something particularly shitty. I won't say who it is, or what, because that's not for me to do. Right after I got home from my class today, I got a text from her. She was in a bad way.
I called her. We talked, for a long time.
Afterwards, she felt better. It was not the problem-solved-everything's-great sort of better (which is usually not real anyhow) but the I-can-deal-and-I've-got-my-head-on-differently-now sort of better.
I'm glad for it, too.
I was pretty wiped after my class. I felt exhausted. Enough that I decided to skip the gym to come home. But when my friend texted me, I was instantly on the case. I suddenly had new energy to spend, to help her. It surprised me, really.
Other people's suffering calls to me. Especially people I like. The more I like you, the less I can stand your being in pain.
I don't know why I'm like this. Heck, maybe everyone is. I'm just glad I am. It feels good to me that when people need me, I can be there for them. I like helping people to blunt the hard edges of their lives.