Pain, too, can sometimes become one of life’s small pleasures. This happens only after you have managed to forgive yourself for carrying that pain—when you can look upon yourself with affection. If you cannot forgive yourself, who will, even if you cannot forgive others? It is difficult to extend forgiveness to others if you haven’t first granted it to yourself. Forgiving others without forgiving yourself is nothing more than a hollow pretense.
There are those who laugh at the misfortune of others, just as there are those who find fault even in someone else’s happiness. While such behavior is morally base, for them, it feels like snacking on something incredibly spicy. After all, spiciness is not a taste but a sensation of pain. They are essentially feasting on the pain of others. I consider them true perverts—and the world is full of them.
On the other hand, there may be moments in life where one is forced to become this kind of “pervert.” When you unexpectedly encounter the pain of a complete stranger, how should you receive it? With sympathy? Consolation? Ridicule? Or perhaps silence? Ultimately, your response likely depends on how that encountered pain resonates within you.
