“I honor your choices” goes a long, long way...

It's important to meet people where they are, not where we want them to be. There is a tendency, in many, to recharacterize people's experiences without being asked. You tell them you are feeling bad, they tell you all the reasons you should feel good. You tell them you are challenged by your circumstances, they tell you the way you can make things easier. You tell them that you have a plan to do something, they offer up another plan for you. Theere is a place for these offerings, particularly when requested, but often times they just make things worse. In face, we are more likely to arrive at the next best place on our journeys when someone actually attunes to where we are, without making any effort to improve upon or re-frame it. We don't need to be saved, we need to be seen. That's the healing, right there, I hear yuou, I see you , I honor your choices... goes a long, long way. - Jeff Brown, Hearticulations