Listening to others' pain

Listening to others' pain

Viktor Frankl is one of the great psychiatrists of the twentieth century. He survived the death camps of Nazi Germany. His little book, Man’s Search for Meaning, is one of those life-changing books that everyone should read.

Frankl once told the story of a woman who called him in the middle of the night to calmly inform him she was about to commit suicide. Frankl kept her on the phone and talked her through her depression, giving her reason after reason to carry on living. Finally, she promised she would not take her life, and she kept her word. 

When they later met, Frankl asked which reason had persuaded her to live?  

"None of them,” she told him. 

What then influenced her to go on living, he pressed?  

Her answer was simple, it was Frankl’s willingness to listen to her in the middle of the night. A world in which there was someone ready to listen to another's pain seemed to her a world in which it was worthwhile to live.

Often, it is not the brilliant argument that makes the difference. Sometimes, the small act of listening is the greatest gift we can give.

We all want to be heard,we all want to know we are important, that our life has meaning.

I can especially relate to this story as I can remember a time I no longer wanted to go on. I had hit rock bottom after losing my mom suddenly and being stuck in a verbally abusive marriage. I wrote the letters to my girls, had the pills ready, and was about to end it all when I got a Facebook message. It was from someone I hadn't spoken to in 30 years. In the message, he said if you ever need to talk, day or night, here's my number.

For some unknown reason, I called him at midnight on Christmas Eve. As I was in my ugly cry with him, he should have hung up on this crazy person he hadn't spoken with in 30 years. 

But he didn't. He listened to me and talked me off the ledge. I didn't take my life because he was there and listened. 

So today, my friends, my message is that many people just need that one person. You can be that person. I am that person you can call in the middle of the night. I am never too busy to listen or to be there for someone in their time of need. I am here to tell you, you are worthy, your life means something, and there are people out here who will be here for you, don't give up. You can be the change you want to see.

@TreadmillTreats