Wednesday, October 16, 2013

The Kindness of Sharing a Piece of Our Hearts

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched ― they must be felt with the heart."
― Helen Keller

I have been thinking about how to convey a certain kindness that I have experienced recently in conversations with people -- sometimes, people whom I don't know well, but whose paths cross mine.  Conversations that have begun about rather unimportant things have ended with one or both of us sharing deeply personal things. 

Then this morning, I received a beautiful e-mail from someone about whom I have written.  She thanked me for "sharing a piece of [my] heart."  And I thought, that's it!  That is the kindness that I have been experiencing.  When someone shares a piece of her heart, that kindness touches our hearts and we connect with that person in a special way.  It's as if that person is stretching out her hand to take ours.  There is warmth and comfort in that connection, which both confirms our humanity and reminds us that we are not alone.  Sometimes, the sharing may put our situation in perspective by helping us to understand that we each are facing our own challenges.  Sometimes, the sharing can simply make us smile at the beauty that lies within all of us.  But always, the kindness of someone sharing a piece of her heart leaves us feeling a little better than we did before.

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