There is a big difference between learning something and understanding it. As a nurse I have learned the 5 stages of death and dying (Elizabeth Kubler Ross). They are denial, anger, bargaining, grief and acceptance. People go through them at different rates and sometimes in a different order. Some stages take longer than others for people, and sometimes people will get stuck in a stage like anger or denial, but from what I have seen everyone goes through them.
This is a concept I have worked with for many years, because I learned about it and I had seen it in other people. As a daughter I now understand it. I could read all about it, and see it in others, but until I experienced it I didn't really understand how it felt. Now that I have felt it I believe it will enable me to be much more compassionate with those that find themselves dealing with it. Eveyone is different, so I would never say I understand exactly how someone feels, but I do know some of what they are feeling.
A lot of things in life are like that, we are taught by our parents and teachers a lot of things. We learn about kindess and charity, about praying and reading the scriptures, about keeping the commandments. But until we practice them, really experience them, we don't understand them. A brief trial of them isn't going to bring the understanding that living and experiencing them will.
I believe we were sent to this earth to have experiences and learn and grow, some of the experiences are more painful than others, but all of them beneficial in some way, if we look for what we are supposed to learn from it. Quite often what we learn is how to help someone else deal with the same thing at some point in the future, or to help us know how to help and what to do, or when there is nothing you can do but be there and listen.
I am very grateful that I have had people willing to sit by and listen during the past couple months. Not one of them said...."This again, really, haven't you dealt with this yet? because I am getting tired of hearing it" They all just patiently listened. Listening is a highly underated skill. I think it should have been one of the commandments "Thou shalt listen to each other" because when we listen to others we learn how to live the other commandments, how to love one another, and strengthen each other. We learn what others need and how we can help. Listening can be very empowering if you are good at it.
So I would like to say Thank you, to all that are good listeners, you make things easier.
This is a concept I have worked with for many years, because I learned about it and I had seen it in other people. As a daughter I now understand it. I could read all about it, and see it in others, but until I experienced it I didn't really understand how it felt. Now that I have felt it I believe it will enable me to be much more compassionate with those that find themselves dealing with it. Eveyone is different, so I would never say I understand exactly how someone feels, but I do know some of what they are feeling.
A lot of things in life are like that, we are taught by our parents and teachers a lot of things. We learn about kindess and charity, about praying and reading the scriptures, about keeping the commandments. But until we practice them, really experience them, we don't understand them. A brief trial of them isn't going to bring the understanding that living and experiencing them will.
I believe we were sent to this earth to have experiences and learn and grow, some of the experiences are more painful than others, but all of them beneficial in some way, if we look for what we are supposed to learn from it. Quite often what we learn is how to help someone else deal with the same thing at some point in the future, or to help us know how to help and what to do, or when there is nothing you can do but be there and listen.
I am very grateful that I have had people willing to sit by and listen during the past couple months. Not one of them said...."This again, really, haven't you dealt with this yet? because I am getting tired of hearing it" They all just patiently listened. Listening is a highly underated skill. I think it should have been one of the commandments "Thou shalt listen to each other" because when we listen to others we learn how to live the other commandments, how to love one another, and strengthen each other. We learn what others need and how we can help. Listening can be very empowering if you are good at it.
So I would like to say Thank you, to all that are good listeners, you make things easier.
