compassion.

"When I reflect on my own life, I realize that the moments of greatest comfort and consolation were moments when someone said, "I cannot take your pain away, I cannot offer you a solution to your problem, but I can promise you that I wont leave you alone and will hold on to you as long and as well as I can." There is much grief and pain in our lives, but what a blessing it is when we do not have to live out our grief and pain alone. That is the gift of compassion."-Henri Nouwen.