Watching someone you love learn the hard way takes patience. Sometimes stepping in steals their lesson.
STILLNESS
WHAT THIS MEANS
Rescuing somebody can take from them the one thing that would have changed anything. Advice does not transfer the way experience does, and a consequence they actually meet is worth more than ten warnings, however right the warnings were. Standing by while it happens is one of the harder forms of care, and it is care.
If somebody you love is heading into something you can see coming, say your piece once, clearly, then stay close without hovering. Make sure they know you are not keeping score. Step in if there is real danger, and otherwise let it be theirs.
A QUESTION TO SIT WITH
Whose mistake do you keep rescuing them from?
MORE IN PATIENCE & TIMING
- Lift the lid on simmering rice and you let the steam out. Some processes need you to trust them.
- The kindness you show now might not be noticed for years. It still counts the day you do it.
- There’s a difference between waiting for the right moment and hiding from it. Be honest about which one this is.
Free, with nothing to buy inside it.