PLEASE LISTEN

When i asked you to listen to me and you started giving me advice, you have not done what i asked. When i ask you to listen to me and you begin to tell me why i shouldn`t feel that way, you are trampling on my feelings. When i ask you to listen to me and you feel you have to do something to solve my problem, you have failed me, strange as that may seem.Listen! All i ask is that you listen. Don`t talk or do- just hear me. Advice is cheap; two bucks will get you both the agonu aunt and uncle saviour in the same newspaper. And i can do for myself; I am not helpless. Maybe discouraged and faltering, but not helpless. When you do something foe me that i can and need to do for myself, you contribute to my fear and inadequacy. But when you accept as a simple fact that i feel what i feel, no matter how irrational, then i can stop trying to convince you and get about this business of understanding what`s behind this irrational feeling. And when that`s clear, the answers are obvious and i don`t need advice. Irrational feelings make sense when we understand what`s behind them. Perhaps that`s why prayers work, sometimes for some people- because God is mute, and he doesn`t give advice or try tofix things. God just listens andlets you work it out for yourself. So please listen, and just hear me. And if you want to talk, wait a minute for your turn- and i will listen to you.