Analogous to a more popular saying but equally as true, in order to understand the mental health of others, we must first understand our own mental health. Furthermore, we must develop a sense of compassion that compels us to help our fellow humans. The fine arts have the incredible ability to do both of these things. The intimacy they demand from their audience ennobles a sort of extrinsic introspection. They put us face to face with something quintessentially human, leading us by the hand to experience life, if for but a moment, as the artist did. This interaction not only shows us the raw emotions of another being, but compels us to experience it ourselves, perhaps rationalizing a part of ourselves we struggled to understand. The larger effect of this, consequently, is compassion; art helps us glimpse at what other people are feeling, and, if nothing else, enables us to more prudently comfort those we love. While there may be more direct methods of developing this compassion, the ability of art to help the audience feel emotion rather than to just learn emotion is what VitArbr believes makes it so effective.