One of the greatest gifts you can give someone is being willing to listen to their story.
Too many times we do not want to listen to someone tell their story because we believe it has nothing to do with us. We meet each other wherever we find ourselves on the journey of life. We believe we see all of each other when we see what is before us.
But in fact whoever we are now has been fashioned by our life experiences. Some things are a joy to remember. Other memories bring pain and anger.
Many people were baffled by the “me too” movement. Many said, “These things happened so long ago, why tell the story now?”
The feelings that have collectively boiled over are a verbal affirmation of a long held silent pain, a remembering of the times of powerlessness when we felt too weak to dare to tell our story … when we thought no one would believe us … or no one would care.
We cannot change the past. But we can change the present by listening to each other and caring. I pray we may all find someone to hear our story … and that we may be that someone for someone else.
