A place

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It is hard to tell where people are. You can learn about their lives through social networks. You can find out what's on their mind and you can see what they have been up to through their pictures and wall posts, their notes and their comments. But you still don't really know where they are at. What are they really thinking about, deep down in their hearts?

Sometimes I can look at a person and I can see the anguish, the frustration, the sorrow in their hearts, but I don't know where it's coming from. I can't place its source, and thus far that has always bothered me. It is none of my business, and as Mother Teresa taught me, it is not even important how they got there, but the fact that they are there is what counts. It is the meeting point that counts.

The other danger, I realise as I write this, is trying to give someone a solution to a problem you are sensing in their lives. You might not know for sure what the problem is, but you sense they need help, and so you start giving them the "solution" when they haven't even told you the problem yet. It is probably as annoying as receiving advice you never asked for. And even if it is incredibly frustrating to feel you know what they need, it is far more crucial to listen to the cry of their hearts, to give them that space, and to allow them that expression.

I came across a saying in the last few weeks that said, "Impression without expression leads to depression", and I took it to heart. I could really relate to that saying. If something happens to you and leaves an impression on you, you need to express it, or else it eats you up. I found though that it was left wanting. As humans we don't just need to express ourselves. We need to feel understood. We need to know that what we express resounds with the hearts and minds of others. It confirms our normality. It makes us feel okay.

As I write this, I have a hope that everyone finds that place where they can go to that allows for such freedom of expression that brings with it peace, and perhaps even a masterpiece, where there are no masks, no pretensions, no false identities, no lies, no deceits, no vanities, but just pure truth and light.

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