Sympathy and empathy are two words which seem to have a similar meaning, however, in reality, these two words are completely different from one another. For starters, when you say you sympathize with someone, you merely understand that someone is going through a hard time. However, when you say that you empathize with someone, you understand and feel someone’s situation and actually do something about it.
Joey Resto, a 23-year-old Paralegal from Brooklyn, is the perfect embodiment of the word ‘empathy.’ The good samaritan now serves as a role model to other people after giving his own shirt to a homeless man he met on a subway. The kind gesture which he fondly calls as a gesture that came from the heart did not fail to warm thousands of hearts all over the world.
It was just a normal day for Joey Resto who was taking a ride on the New York subway when his attention was captured by a shirtless homeless man. Apparently, the selfless young adult could not afford to ignore the freezing shirtless homeless man who was boarding the train with him.
Knowing that it is too much for the old homeless man’s body to bear the freezing cold temperature, Joey Resto did the unthinkable. He walked towards the homeless elderly and took off his white shirt- leaving himself vulnerable to the cold now that he’s left with his white tank top.
“It just came from the heart. I don’t know how anyone could have walked past him and had extra clothing and not given it to him.” Joey said, explaining what inspired him to help the shivering homeless man.
Joey’s act of kindness did not stop with that. Minutes after giving his white shirt to the old man, he returned once again, but this time he was carrying a black hat. Joey, then, thoughtfully placed the black hat on top of the old man’s head.
“He was warm for the first time in I don’t know how long. He just curled up in a corner and went to sleep,” Joey said, showing a clear understanding of the old man’s predicament.
Unbeknownst to the young man, a fellow commuter witnessed his kind gesture. Also inside the train was Mr. Lazaro Nolasco, who was surprised and touched by Joey’s unexpected bold display of kindness towards the homeless man. Knowing that the world needs to see such heartwarming empathy and kindness, Mr. Lazaro Nolesco decided to record the touching scene happening in front of his sight.
Later on, Mr. Nolesco uploaded the short clip and shared it on his Facebook account. From the day it has been uploaded to the present time, the heart-stirring video has been viewed more than 9 million times!
According to the good samaritan named Joey, he would have loved to take the homeless man out for coffee or a hot meal. He would have also liked to donate warmer clothes so that the elderly won’t have to suffer from excruciating cold. However, the old man was already deeply asleep, and Joey thought it would be best to let the old man replenish his lost energy.
Aside from the fact that the young adult offered his own shirt in order to keep the old man warm, what made Joey a cut above the rest is the fact that he willingly helped the old man put his new shirt on. He did not only give a material thing, but he also showed the old man that he truly cares about him.
“He looked so weak and frail,” Joey said, describing the state of the old man. “I had to help him, or he would not put it on.”
Watch the heartwarming video of Joey, selflessly giving his own shirt to the shirtless homeless man. May his inspiring story remind each and every one of us not to settle with being sympathetic.
sure is quite heartbreaking to know that a lot of people had already seen the shivering homeless old man before. If not for Joey’s strong empathy, the shirtless old man may still be out suffering from the freezing cold temperature.
Instead of settling down for mediocrity, may Joey inspire us not to be contended with feeling sorry for our neighbors. But also have the initiative to help alleviate the problems they are bearing.
Photos and Video | Läzaro El Feo