HOTTT!!
Trust is a difficult thing for those trashed by society.
A friend sought me out and shared many things.
What choice did I have but to listen, to empathize, to comfort, to encourage, to reflect back what he was sharing and what I thought he wanted me to understand
What choice did I have but to empathize and listen some more...
to encourage...
to respect...
And I was asked
What do you think about...
(political opinion which is currently a very hot topic, which we had differing viewpoints on, but which I felt was irrelevant to not only our conversation but to our relationship)
I chose to say that is irrelevant. It doesn't matter what I think. That is not what this relationship is about. And I think I was right to do so because, in this instance, his emotions were so caught up into his vulnerability and his trauma that it would serve him no good. My friendship with him was not one in which I was to point out differences. His wounds were too fresh and vulnerable. My job was to love him. If, at a point of his greater confidence, and at a time period when my very acceptance of his opinions didn't matter so much to him, maybe then. But, at the time, it was irrelevant and it would even have been very painful to him. It would divide. My job was not to judge. My job was to love.
A friend sought me out and shared many things.
What choice did I have but to listen, to empathize, to comfort, to encourage, to reflect back what he was sharing and what I thought he wanted me to understand
What choice did I have but to empathize and listen some more...
to encourage...
to respect...
And I was asked
What do you think about...
(political opinion which is currently a very hot topic, which we had differing viewpoints on, but which I felt was irrelevant to not only our conversation but to our relationship)
I chose to say that is irrelevant. It doesn't matter what I think. That is not what this relationship is about. And I think I was right to do so because, in this instance, his emotions were so caught up into his vulnerability and his trauma that it would serve him no good. My friendship with him was not one in which I was to point out differences. His wounds were too fresh and vulnerable. My job was to love him. If, at a point of his greater confidence, and at a time period when my very acceptance of his opinions didn't matter so much to him, maybe then. But, at the time, it was irrelevant and it would even have been very painful to him. It would divide. My job was not to judge. My job was to love.