You know how it's so terribly hard to know what to say to someone who is suffering, or to their loved ones? It just is, even when you know suffering yourself. I know for a fact that even in the last two years I have said things to hurting people that I immediately felt were trite or presumptious or too negative or too sunshiney or...
This is why I am so glad to have received an email from my sister-in-law today with a link to an article about how to know what to say to which people. The woman who came up with this is a freaking genius, in my opinion. So if you also feel sometimes that you don't know what's appropriate to say in difficult circumstances, click on over to the LA Times website:
How to know whether it's a good thing to say to this person
Shannon, the article is brilliant. I think intuitively I "mostly" (but I can also think of times that I did not) follow these rules, but it's great to see it written down so I can understand why my intuition says to do this. A few close friends are going through some very difficult times right now and this article will cause me to take a moment to make sure I am "comforting in and dumping out" before I speak out loud. Thank you. Hope you and your kids are well. I think about you often.
ReplyDeleteGood one.
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