Speak to Me

    I am an observer of people. I make my living off the human condition.  On a regular basis, while I am listening to people's path in life--as told by them--I assess.  What's true, what's not, how wrapped in the pain are they?  How invested in changing, or not are they?  While these skills make me good at what I do at work, and are priceless in navigating a work environment, they serve me not at all in relationships and life overall.

     There are times when I think I see too much.  Perhaps, it has more to  do with the dichotomy between what I am seeing intuitively and what I am being shown prima facie.  The dilemma becomes what do  you believe?  How much of our intuition is colored by what we have lived through, gotten into, gotten out of and gotten over?  When I asked someone what they thought my biggest weakness was he looked me squarely in the face and said: 

 " 'you believe that people are basically good and will do the right thing.  They will usually do what is right for them.' "

I asked why that was a bad thing?  He said " 'it's a wonderful thing but it opens up a world of hurt.' "  Probably an entirely true statement.

     Part of my belief is self-preservation.  I see the physical and emotional pain that people rain on each other and themselves everyday, so I need to believe and bear witness to the flip side.  In addition, as a mom, I need to impart in my children a way for them to see the world  as a place of possibilities...good, bad and indeterminate.  They need to realize, as I do, that ultimately all you can do is learn and grow. Accept the responsibility for things that you do and insist others do the same.  Do it all with the understanding that we will all fall short sometimes.

   My heart and mind are open.  Speak to me, but understand that I listen real loud. There are 8 million stories in the naked city.  Tell yours and own it. Be good to each other and get it done.