Happiness is Knowing What to Say

Well, the holidays are now behind us so we’re back to Friday posts at The Happiness Corner. Be regular from now until…another holiday perhaps. 🙂

I’m feeling really happy right now because I’ve just had one of those sticky conversations with a friend who’s in crisis, and I knew what to say–and not say. My books focus on sticky items in relationships sometimes, and so often in them (and in real life), we all wonder if we’re saying the right thing.  What do you say to someone who’s going through a divorce? What do you say when someone’s learned they have cancer? What do you say when someone’s kid keeps acting out time and time again?

And how do you know you’ve said the right thing? Because there’s peace. You haven’t told them what to do or how to feel. You’ve just listened and encouraged them, and told them you’re there for them. Maybe you’ve told them an anecdote about how something worked out for someone else when they don’t believe something good can happen to them.

We’re all here to support each other, and if we’re lucky enough, we’ll have a coterie of people who trust us enough to talk to us about their “stickiest” situations. And if we’re truly present to them and give them the freedom they need to be empowered in that situation and make the best decision for themselves, we are saying the right thing to them.

We’ve all come through another holiday, surrounded by family and other people we sometimes have those “sticky” encounters with. How did you fare? Was there enough love and space to say what you needed to say or simply be peaceful about accepting where things are, knowing they can change?

Let’s all listen a little more to our inner wisdom and give ourselves a pat on the back when we truly feel, down to our deepest self, that we knew exactly what to say. And we did it.

 

Image courtesy of gubgib / FreeDigitalPhotos.net