There are times in our lives that we need someone to listen. And not just listen, but truly hear what we are saying, not judging at any time how we feel. When life is getting the best of us, or we simply have so much going on that we feel we may crack under the pressure… that shoulder to lean on can mean so much.
In my personal life, I have a number of sick family members and recently suffered a loss of one of them. That is a lot to be coping with. But I go to work and do my job with a smile on my face. I’m the gal that everyone can count on to be in a good mood. Some days, that good mood is a great farce. But work is work, it is not a place to air my dirty laundry or to whine about life.
So when life is getting the best of me, I still go to work with a smile and a good attitude. But I work with a truly wonderful person who sees through my plastic smile and knows when I must be hurting. She never pries; she simply asks how I’m doing. And when I matter of factly respond with the funeral I must attend, the lack of sleep and the pain in my heart, she simply listens. I do no drone on, she doesn’t not ooh and awww, she just sits there, understanding how I must feel and offering words of support that are as simple as, “yeah, that is a lot to deal with.” And sometimes, what we all need is someone who truly listens.
When I’m outraged, I need someone who can be outraged with me. When I’m angry or frustrated and I need to prosthelytize and have someone say “AMEN!” But there are times in life, when the world feels grey and too much to bear, and in those moments, quiet thoughtfulness with do just fine. And the best shoulder to lean on is someone who knows when to “GRRRR!” in sympathy, and when to just offer a quiet thoughtful response and really hear what is in your heart.
