Years ago, a friend of mine lost her mother to a terrible battle with cancer. This particular friend of mine has the kindest heart and an incredibly beautiful soul, so to see her in pain, pained me deeply. It somehow felt like I was taking on her pain, even though it wasn't my mother that this had happened to. My boyfriend at the time caught me crying one day and said to me, "you feel things too deeply, you should stop."

First off, as if it was that easy, and secondly, it made me wonder why feeling so deeply, or so much, is looked at in a negative manner. He explained that he didn't understand taking on someone else's pain when you feel enough pain yourself. His mindset was based on the idea that humans already feel each individual emotion so deeply, so why add to your plate, essentially? Though that's a good point, it's highly unrealistic for most people. When your friends hurt, you hurt. When your family hurts, you hurt. Anyone you have an emotional connection to makes it possible for you to empathize with them out of love and support.

To me, feeling deeply simply means you have a big heart. You have a lot of compassion and want to share the burden of pain with those you love.

I don't know why it's looked down upon as a weakness. If anything, true weakness is characterized by only caring for your own personal dark days.

Sometimes, someone we respect, someone we put in high regard, loses someone close to them. We may not have ever known that person ourselves, but we know the person they created, someone who touched your life and whose impact was likely rooted from the person they lost. Feeling pain, feeling a sense of loss for that person is normal. Having a big heart shouldn't be a bad thing. If anything, we should hold on to the people who care when they don't have to.

Be kind. Care for others. Be there for those you care for, because life can change in an instant.