We pity in others only those evils which we have ourselves experienced.

Sympathy runs mostly along lines you have already walked. Until you have been ill, or broke, or left, other people’s version of it stays an idea, and ideas do not move anyone very far. That is not coldness; it is a limit in the equipment, and knowing about it is what allows you to act decently toward troubles you have never had.

When someone describes a difficulty outside your experience, resist the urge to compare it to something of yours. Ask what the day is actually like for them, listen to the answer, and offer help based on that rather than on what you would want.