I am always grateful when I am able to connect with another human being who is willing to sit and truly listen to whatever is on my mind, asking simple, clarifying questions and paying attention to what is being said as well as those things that are unspoken. I sat and had dinner with an individual whom I’ve interacted with a number of times over the years. Though we’ve not been able to spend a lot of time together, we are kindred spirits. There’s a certain knowing you have with some people such that, even if you only spend a little time with them here and there, each time you meet them it’s like you’re old friends. It’s one of those phenomena that’s completely intuitive and difficult to explain. You feel like you’ve known this person for years right from the very beginning.
It has been a good, exhausting day. I sat and learned and thought about a lot of important issues, my mind and heart engaged, thinking about some of the challenges we face as human beings on the planet. My colleague and friend who had come out here to do some work at my institution helped us think in different ways about how to do the work we do to make the world a better place. In addition to being inspired to think about how to strengthen the initiatives I am helping to lead, my colleague also encouraged me to think about my own journey–both personal and professional–to see where my growth edges are. Her attentive listening, question asking, and supportive advising really helped to create a safe container for me to think more deeply about where I am in my life at the moment.
What has been good for me has been that she provided for me what I so often provide for other people. She asked me to ponder the kinds of questions that I as a life coach and advisor have frequently asked others and provided the supportive environment that I strive to provide for those with whom I am in conversation with about their own personal and professional development. It reminded me how nice it is to be on the receiving end for a change. I am grateful too for the mirror she held up for me to take a look at myself and hear about myself from another person who has no agenda, no need to flatter (or flatten) me for any reason. She gave me her honest assessment and offered suggestions and for the most part, she was spot on.
I am reminded yet again of the expression that the teacher will appear when the student is ready and that everything happens for a reason. I am grateful for this synchronicity that happens when I am in just the right place at the right time to hear just what I needed to hear to move in a particular direction. Sometimes I don’t even know that I needed to hear something until I’ve heard it and something “clicks” on the inside of me and what was out of alignment or not quite clear suddenly shifts and everything becomes crystal clear and lines up perfectly. When that happens, you know it and cannot help but be grateful for it. I know that this visit by my colleague at this time happened for a variety of reasons, some of which I won’t even know right away. What I do know is that it was just what the doctor ordered for me, and I am grateful.
