Do you hear what people tell you?

Sometimes we only half listen, or listen but then filter the words, giving them a meaning that does not actually reflect the speaker's intention. Assuming your friends and acquaintenances speak the truth as they see it and are not deliberately distorting things for their own benefit, has it occurred to you that their observations of you and your situation may accurately identify some positive actions you could take? Or maybe just add a couple of items to the shopping list of possible actions you need to consider. Not the ones you THINK they mean... but what they literally SAID.

A friend of a friend regularly shares very personal reflections via group emails, Facebook status updates and notes. At times she seems rather down, morose, negative. Generally people write back warm encouraging comments saying how beautiful and thoughtful her poetry is, how insightful, how sensitive... 'cause they are nice people, and it is a gift of sorts to be part of such an intimate sharing.

Lately, though, I have noticed people starting to respond differently ...today one guy commented "Choose your own adventure, Claudia". I wonder if Claudia will hear him? I also wonder what Claudia will hear?

Stepping back a bit, when your friends offer you solutions or insights, what do you hear? "I write beautiful, clever poetry" or "I need to put more energy into creating joy not pain"?


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