my gift to share

Pretty common view of me in Ireland taken by the husband.  I will share a recap and photos from the trip soonish but for now I wanted to write about something a bit more on my mind. 

The Monday before the wedding in hell (only because of the heat -- that's kind of what I imagine hell to feel like) I had dinner and some honeymoon shopping with a dear friend and  coach and we were talking about depth and abilities to see whole people where they are and how they came to be who they are.  For example, I was talking of a friend of mine from childhood and the fact that she used to make up some outlandish stories of things that were going to happen and our friends would all shrug them off -- knowing they weren't to be.  It pissed off some people "she lies!  all the time!  how can you put up with that?"

But I knew why she did it.  Her family sucked, she had a really rough time of it growing up - I always suspected some abuse happened in her home -- it just wasn't a good or fun place to be.  I understood immediately why she made up these stories of the glories and fun to come.  She wanted it to be true.  She NEEDED it to be true in order to weather the stormy sea she was traveling on. 

In the midst of telling this story - my friend stopped me.  "Do you feel that?  Do you feel that energy?" (or something to that effect - it was almost a month ago and I had a lot of Guinness in Ireland!) and I said tentatively "no?  what?"

I was reminded in no uncertain terms that I have a gift.  I don't often think of myself as being gifted but I do know I have them and one of those gifts is to see a whole person for who they are and being able to put those pieces together and truly GET someone.  Even someone who has led an entirely different life than I have.  I GET THEM.  I GET PEOPLE.  I am incredibly empathetic without being totally drawn into someone's drama or issues.  I see people for who they are and what they are and I can reflect that back and help someone.  It's what makes me a good friend, a good partner and a good coach. 

I believe we are all given gifts in the world - mine isn't to paint a masterpiece or to write a symphony - rather mine is to help people see themselves exactly as they are and help them value that. People, myself included, get stuck in their stories but when you strip those stories away, we're all people with a myriad of experiences who truly want to connect with other people.  I am so grateful I have a gift that can help people do that.

Comments

[Sarah]

I love this, and it is sooo true. You got me like THAT when I was going through a rough time and offered the advice that I needed and that was SO true, even when I didn't see it.

I love that about you, it's such a gift.