“Imagine if it happened to you”
It would seem obvious for a human being with a conscience to have empathy; the need to remind a person to put himself in a trialed person’s shoes might seem unnecessary. Man is however, weak— physically and mentally. A life without calamity is perceived as success after “hard work”.
People who have been saved from a misfortune can be found sitting on cushioned chairs, attributing their lack of sorrow to their prowesses, blaming people hit by calamity for their lack of patience, and forgetting that fortune only comes from Allah. In these cases, “imagine if it happened to you” recalibrates man and reminds him of his helplessness.
A healthcare worker who has inserted a thousand cannulae, and passed hundreds of nasogastric tubes might find a mother’s apprehension uncalled for. After all, these are essential interventions to save a life. The tubes seem scary, but they help.
What happens when the roles change and the doctor becomes the apprehensive parent? Cannulae become agents that inflict excruciating pain and tubes become unbearable to look at.
The healthcare worker finally understands that empathy cannot be learnt from books, and his strength had always been from his Lord’s grace.
Whenever we find ourselves being impatient with emotional patient relatives, we should imagine what we would do if it were happening to us.