As a parent I was feeling so sad Brain C-13 Review for him, protective, a deep sense of empathy and compassion. I know what an awful ordeal it was for him and for me to watch him and hold him during his pain was also very difficult. I felt his pain and his confusion at what had happened. We have told our kids to leave wasps and bees alone and let them be (pun intended) and they will leave you alone.
This new experience did not match up with what he had learned. Holding him in my arms as he cried almost uncontrollably and doing my best to comfort him was a very intense, difficult and wonderful experience all at the same time. At that moment he didn't care what I knew about wasps or what I said about pain, he just needed me to hold him. Although I would have done anything to help him to have avoided this experience, to be there for him, holding him, comforting him, caring for him was deeply moving for me and a I had both a deep sadness for him as well as a joy at being able to be there with and for him.
There is a mutuality in holding someone through their pain. In our brains we have these Mirror Neurons that are designed to be engaged when we hear someone else's story, when we can feel what it is like to walk in their shoes. Being there for others literally opens up new pathways in our brains. Pathways that allow us to connect with someone and feel for them. Holding someone during their pain, whether it be from the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, the loss of a relationship, or another disappointment or hurt. These experiences when shared become transformational and both souls' are touched by the encounter.
