Monday, March 31, 2014

The Kindness of Reaching Across Silence

"In human intercourse the tragedy begins, not when there is misunderstanding about words, but when silence in not understood."
Henry David Thoreau

A woman I know wanted to move forward with a couple of projects in her life, but had realized that she was stuck.  One day, she had what she thought was the very bright idea of reaching out via e-mail to a former study partner to talk about moving forward.  Now living across the Atlantic, the study partner suggested that they use Skype to communicate.  Not sure how to make that work, the woman I know did not respond and once again felt stuck.  Before she could decide what to tell her former study partner, her study partner wrote her again to wish her a "happy spring" and to say that she was sorry that the use of Skype might have gotten in the way of their reconnecting.  The study partner went on to suggest a phone call, which delighted the woman I know. 

There is kindness in understanding a silence and then reaching across it to connect with someone who needs you.

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