Can you hear me now?
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Tonight I was reminded of our need for one another.
You see, everyone longs to belong. Everyone wants to have a place where their thoughts, ideas, and imaginations are accepted and have a home, where people are free to be themselves.
As I was walking out of a college group tonight I was met by Geoff. Geoff was that kid that I went to high school with who calls himself a 'slow learner' and who was made fun of by the other kids. In addition to learning at a slower rate than the other students he was also a tall and lanky African-American student in a school that was predominantly white. So you can imagine how difficult it was for him to fit in.
So Geoff walked up to me and started a conversation. At first I was feeling so proud about myself inside...thinking thoughts like "I am such a good guy to be listening to Geoff when no one else will..." But when I saw him tonight I was struck by his openness, his honesty, and just his desire to be heard. But then I came to realize that I wasn't doing Geoff a favor but he really just wants what we all want, and that is to be heard - to be accepted as we are. And it was just so great to see Geoff express it so openly.
We talked about a number of things including the new responsibilities of living on our own, work, and just life in general. And it was just a good conversation because we were honest about our lives.
He asked me about my life, and I felt like he really wanted to hear me. And then at one point he even said 'tell your brother that I miss him.' That blew me away. When did I become too cool to admit that I miss or need other people? But to me Geoff was the 'good guy' modeling the 'good life' to live because he realized that life is defined the relationships you keep.
After talking a little while I felt like giving Geoff a hug before I got into my car to come home. So I said 'alright Geoff, I am going to give you a hug now', and as I went to hug him he was a little timid at first but then we finally did hug and he hugged me for what must have been a full minute. He gentlly would not let go. He hugged me with a love I didn't know he could offer and I felt like he cared for me in a way that is only possible through the true connection of hearing someone else.
-Mike Morabito
You see, everyone longs to belong. Everyone wants to have a place where their thoughts, ideas, and imaginations are accepted and have a home, where people are free to be themselves.
As I was walking out of a college group tonight I was met by Geoff. Geoff was that kid that I went to high school with who calls himself a 'slow learner' and who was made fun of by the other kids. In addition to learning at a slower rate than the other students he was also a tall and lanky African-American student in a school that was predominantly white. So you can imagine how difficult it was for him to fit in.
So Geoff walked up to me and started a conversation. At first I was feeling so proud about myself inside...thinking thoughts like "I am such a good guy to be listening to Geoff when no one else will..." But when I saw him tonight I was struck by his openness, his honesty, and just his desire to be heard. But then I came to realize that I wasn't doing Geoff a favor but he really just wants what we all want, and that is to be heard - to be accepted as we are. And it was just so great to see Geoff express it so openly.
We talked about a number of things including the new responsibilities of living on our own, work, and just life in general. And it was just a good conversation because we were honest about our lives.
He asked me about my life, and I felt like he really wanted to hear me. And then at one point he even said 'tell your brother that I miss him.' That blew me away. When did I become too cool to admit that I miss or need other people? But to me Geoff was the 'good guy' modeling the 'good life' to live because he realized that life is defined the relationships you keep.
After talking a little while I felt like giving Geoff a hug before I got into my car to come home. So I said 'alright Geoff, I am going to give you a hug now', and as I went to hug him he was a little timid at first but then we finally did hug and he hugged me for what must have been a full minute. He gentlly would not let go. He hugged me with a love I didn't know he could offer and I felt like he cared for me in a way that is only possible through the true connection of hearing someone else.
-Mike Morabito
