You Are Not Alone

If you're reading this, just know someone is thinking about you.

Sometimes that is more than enough for this one moment.

You are not alone!

Nobody Listens In This World

As my mom used to say to me, "we have two ears and one mouth - use them appropriately."  Yet, these days, we seem to act as if we have two mouths and one ear.  We talk more than we listen.  Listening is a part of our society that is vanishing.  Nobody listens in this world.

We are in a society that thinks everyone has to scream and rant and rave all day and every day about the latest headlines.  We're not in listening mode - we're in speaking mode.  If you observe and watch closely, you will see that no one is truly listening to each other.

I often watch little kids in public places just trying to get the attention of their parents.  They just want them to care and show that they are listening to them.  Far too often, I see the parents texting someone or glued to their phone and the poor child is feeling very neglected.

On social media, everyone wants to tell everyone what they should do it seems or how they should think.  Everyone thinks that everybody else wants to read the regurgitated rhetoric over and over throughout the day.  This not listening at all.  It is people speaking far too much and in many ways, not adding anything to our world.

Be a friend and listen...

Often people just need someone to listen.  They don't need them to formulate some meme or happy thought.  They don't need them to tell them what to do or how to think or what to say.  They just need someone to be a friend and listen.

Listening can be so healing and helpful.  It can give courage and strength to those who are struggling in difficult times.  Listening can open up a compassionate heart by removing pain that is too difficult to bear.

Listening can give courage and strength to those who may be struggling to hold on in their day.  Just the act of listening says I care and sometimes that is more than enough.

We all take listening for granted, but in communication - it is a very powerful tool.  Without listening, the words spoken between one another would have no place to land.  Without listening, we'd never understand another's point of view or their thoughts or emotions or ideas.

Listening is so important.  Let us all try to remember that we have two ears and one mouth like my mother used to say.  If we use it in that proportion, than we should be listening more than we are speaking?  How's that going in your life?

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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Meeting A Friend With A Kindred Heart

For months now, I've been chatting online with someone that has become a good friend of mine.  We had not met, but became acquainted through a mutual connection.  It didn't take long to establish a friendship because there was much we shared in common.

This person happens to be a regular columnist on my blog now and her name is Marie.  I'm so thrilled to have gotten to meet her in person because she's exactly like what she sounds like in all of our email conversations.

When we caught up, it was like we had known each other for centuries.  As nervous as I usually am when meeting someone new, I just didn't experience that.  It just felt easy to make the connection.

I was with her and her dogs at a Dog Agility competition and so I got to see something I had never been around.  It was fun watching all the dogs and people interact.  While I thought I might be like a sore thumb in a meat market, I felt perfectly fine and normal there.

After the last run Marie did with her dogs, I was walking with her as she took the dogs back to her little RV.  They had so much energy and were playing, making it difficult for her to not get tangled up in their leashes.  So, I asked if I could take one of the dogs to help her out.

The next thing I knew, Saki and I were running around having fun.  I'm not sure who enjoyed it the most, me or Saki?  It was a wonderful moment.  It was like I had a friend and felt so connected to Saki and Marie.

We went back to her little RV and just sat and talked.  Saki came up on her lap and decided to span the both of us with her face and front paws resting on my leg.  It was a moment I will cherish.

Often because I work from home, I am somewhat isolated.  I know it is something I need to find a solution too, but it just helped to talk to someone that understood and I could truly be myself.  It helped to connect with the dogs.

It is a moment I will always cherish and the picture at the top of this post is Marie, myself and her dog.  There is one dog hiding under our feet, but Saki is the resting on my leg.

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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The Process Of Grief

Recently a dear friend of mine died quickly and unexpectedly.  It wasn't easy saying good bye to my friend and I'm not even sure I'm at a point where I can say goodbye.  I know it takes time to go through the process of grief, but it doesn't make it any easier knowing this.

Some of these moments of grief reminded me of a time when I lost my own mom.  Although it has been many years now, it still feels like yesterday.  I can picture vividly everything that went on that day leading up to the phone call I received.  It is all as if it happened moments ago.

Just like what happened many years ago, I found myself in utter disbelief and shock.  I was numb to what was going on.  My mind didn't know how to process the grief.  My mind didn't even know how to acknowledge it or think about it.  I remember feeling stunned and shocked and speechless.

I Don't Want To Say Goodbye

Photo by Margaret Bland

When I encounter moments that are difficult for me to comprehend, I usually turn to writing words on a page.  This is one such moment.  I lost a dear friend of mine just last night.  I'm in disbelief.  There is no easy way to make sense of it.  I don't want to say goodbye.

He was one of those people to me that was in my inner circle.  I don't let too many people in to the degree I did with my friend.  We could talk about anything.  I never felt judged.  I never felt like I had to feel or be or act a certain way.  I could just be myself.  I could just be whatever I felt like in that moment with my friend.

He was there with me through many a rough moment in my life.  When family issues would arise, he was there with an open ear, a heart of compassion, and his presence.  When my Grandmother passed away and I was afraid to go because of family issues, he made the trip with me.