Stories are so important. They make up who we are as people.
Everyone has a story. There is pain they have felt, people who have helped or hurt them, places they've been, and experiences that have shaped who they are.
What if we looked at people with those thoughts in mind? What if we truly wanted to hear their stories? What if we stopped talking and just listened?
Can we really make a difference by pressing pause and listening?
I think we can. All people really want is to be seen and heard. They want to be noticed and feel important. They want to know that someone cares. One of the greatest ways to show love to someone is by allowing them to feel safe in their own skin - by creating an environment in which they feel like they are enough. Someone once encouraged me to listen with curiosity and compassion, rather than listening to respond or fix things.
I think I've always had this dream to make a difference and change the world. We've all had that dream in some form. I want to help people and give them hope. I want to fix things and make them better.
I imagined that I would do these big things on the other side of the world. I always thought that poverty and struggle were found in a third world country or in big cities. I didn't think that I would find that in the midwest - a world full of middle class Americans.
Wherever you are at, there are people who are full of pain and hurt. There are people who just want to be seen and heard, right where you live.
I have been tutoring this lady who is working to get her GED. We have built a relationship these past few months. Last week we ended up playing Scrabble and talking. After I asked a few questions she began spilling her life story. She told me about her family and where she had lived, how she couldn't find shelter in her mobile home when the tornado came. She told me about the hard things in her life, about how she didn't want her daughter to end up like her, about losing both her parents. I could hear the pain and hurt in her voice. I could see how she loved her children so much and wanted the best for them.
I wanted to be able to give her money and fix her problems. But that wasn't my job. My job was to listen and encourage her.
I never realized how great of an impact that I could make by simply listening to someone.
And I never knew that listening to someone else's story could impact mine so much.
She has impacted me with her strength and perseverance.
Maybe what people need isn't your charity or money, but your love and time. Don't try to fix their situation and make their life more comfortable. Just show them that they are important and that you believe in them.
Stop where you are.
Press pause.
Put down the phone.
Look at the faces of the people around you.
Ask genuine questions and listen.
Purely listen.
