I got a call the other day. How do I share with someone — truly convey to them so it is felt in their heart — that I am with them and share their pain, when what they are experiencing is unimaginable, something too painful to let in?

The first thoughts to come are inadequate, words and phrases so often said and found in cards with caring intentions they have become trite, hollow, meaningless. No store-bought card could possibly make known the feelings in my heart. Settling for such canned sentiments would be worse than not saying anything at all. I cannot allow myself to impart anything less than what is from my soul. What words, placed in just the right order, can possibly suffice?

The roots of the sympathy are the Greek words, “sym” meaning “together,” and “pathos,” referring to “feeling” or “emotion” — to share in another's pain, distress, feelings. A perfect word, if the receiver also shares its Hellenic origins, but also a perfect example of one so overused its true essence is lost.

To share in one's pain and anguish is an act of love. I realize the root of my feelings of compassion, empathy, and tenderness, in fact, are the essence of love. And with that, from my pen and guided by my heart, words form in their perfect order to appear on the page.

"My dearest friend..."