Two facets of empathy are important to notice. One is when we’re with someone who’s suffering: we feel with, we resonate with, we literally sense the other person’s experience. And then there’s a cognitive layer: we’re able to put ourselves in their shoes, because we know suffering in our own experience. Then we are able to feel the aspiration, the impulse of the heart to help in whatever way alleviates the suffering. We all have this capacity innate within us. Someone falls down in front of you, and you don’t even think about whether you should pick them up. You’re just there.