Thank you.
mscandide | Homepage | 03.30.06 - 12:17 pm | #

thank you all for your thoughtful comments. times like this is when i'm proud and humbled to be part of such a community.
mark | 03.30.06 - 11:50 am | #

I can't quite get over my great good fortune in having met all of you.
bluesmama | Homepage | 03.30.06 - 9:17 am | #

Damn great pondering. It's comforting to think of things that way because you are right of course. About revealing your dark side; you might want to re-think that .
GOOD FORTUNE TO ALL TO WHOM THESE SYMBOLS COME!!!!!It's gonna be a great day!!!!!!!
Cap'n Rich | Homepage | 03.30.06 - 5:51 am | #

Thanks, Meg, for writing the "listening to needs" part. Regards, Peter.
Peter Bryenton | Homepage | 03.30.06 - 3:03 am | #

I read something awhile back about the necessity of suffering ... that it is useful and that it is not a good thing to try to take someone's suffering away from them. I also read that a little bit goes a long way and that it is fairly over-rated ... as in the martyr and victim school of thinking. Witnessing it is important... not exactly sure why... just that it is.

And you are right... we are not all that different. I used to go to a yearly ... gosh ... what to call it... intensive grief workshop in California. We would unpack our stories one by one as we introduced ourselves... some years it took 2 or 3 days to just get through the introducing of 12 people...as the stories would get started and need a proper finish. After several years of doing this, a friend and I were talking about that years group and I realized... same stories... just different faces.

Even though the stories are the same... they are still every bit as compelling. Like they are being heard for the very first time every time. Funny how that works.
mikaelah | Homepage | 03.30.06 - 12:57 am | #

We used to say, when things seemed unbearable, that the Lords of Karma were smiling on us -- giving us difficult things to do so that we could get through the mortal coil faster. I'm not sure that I want to. And there have been times when I wanted to tell those Lords where to put it.
And we've said Nietchse's (damn, I never can spell his name right!)line about "If it doesn't kill you, it will make you stronger." Probably true but, then again, he wasn't the most sturdy individual.
You are right, I think. Have faith in yourself and in the strength of those you love. And all you have to do, really, is say, "I'm here." Witness. That goes a long way.
Lillie | Homepage | 03.29.06 - 8:59 pm | #

You always figure out the right thing in the end. Trust them and yourself to talk and walk it through. But make sure you listen to what they need -- not just what you are wanting to give.
Meg | Homepage | 03.29.06 - 6:11 pm | #