When I ask you to listen to me
and you start giving advice
you have not done what I asked. When I ask you to listen to me
and you begin to tell me why
I shouldn't feel that way
you are trampling on my feelings.

When I ask you to listen to me
and you feel you have to do something
to solve my problem
you have failed me, strange as that may seem.

So please listen and just hear me.
and, if you want to talk,
wait a minute for your turn;
and I'll listen to you.

~~ Author Unknown ~~

Those of us who have traveled a while
Along this path called grief,
Need to stop and remember that mile,
The first mile of no relief.

It wasn't the person with answers
Who told us the way to deal,
It wasn't the one who talked and talked
That helped us to start to heal.

Think of the friend who quietly sat
and held our hands in theirs,
The ones who let us talk and talk
and hugged away our tears.

We need to always remember
That more than the words we speak,
It's the gift of someone who listens
That most of us desperately seek.

~~ Author Unknown ~~

When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world. I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation.

When I found I couldn't change the nation, I began to focus on my town.

I couldn't change the town and as an older man, I tried to change my family.

Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family.

My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world.

~~ Author Unknown ~~
(UNKNOWN MONK 1100AD)