All you have done as he tells you the story is to stand still, listening. You have not gone on a journey. You have not sacrificed anything remarkable. You have not suffered greatly during this time.
Yet, you have heard his tale of a journey through suffering and sacrifice, and having heard the story, you find yourself brought to tears. It is not sadness or grief that makes your eyes swell. What you feel is the consequence of understanding what another person has endured and has felt, realizing the transformation that such an experience can provoke.
You have been caught in the emotion that the Italians call commuovere, the feeling of having been moved in one’s heart by a tale that another has told.
