It takes courage to sit with another when they are suffering or in pain. My exposure to Taoist thought gave me courage to face my own suffering and the suffering of others. Something I read in the Tao Te Ching at 10yrs old gave me a wide enough view of life to face suffering. It is what helped me to survive my experiences of bullying etc., to see suffering in perspective in space and time. Somewhere in this mix was a recognition of others ignorance as a source of their short sighted actions.
pp.23-4 My Spiritual Journey, The Dalai Lama. From para. 3 to the end of this piece talks about the kind of perspective that creates courage. It conveys the kind of balance that can be achieved.