He realized that he was the first human being she'd ever seen. He was touched in a way that he hadn't imagined he could be. |
I did this because the person I loved wanted it. |
I was certainly not trained to be a fellow human being. |
In some basic way, it is our imperfections and even our pain that draws others close to us. |
It's a human relationship, not a relationship between an expert and a problem. |
Most people have come to prefer certain of life’s experiences and deny and reject others, unaware of the value of the hidden things that may come wrapped in plain and even ugly paper. In avoiding all pain and seeking comfort at all costs, we may be left without intimacy or compassion; in rejecting change and risk we often cheat ourselves of the quest; in denying our suffering we may never know our strength or our greatness. |
The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention…. A loving silence often has far more power to heal and to connect than the most well-intentioned words. |
Those who don’t love themselves as they are rarely love life either. |
To seek approval is to have no resting place, no sanctuary. Like all judgment, approval encourages a constant striving. It makes us uncertain of who we are and of our true value. Approval cannot be trusted. It can be withdrawn at any time no matter what our track record has been. It is as nourishing of real growth as cotton candy. Yet many of us spend our lives pursuing it. |
What if? What if things were different than the way you have seen them in the past? |