if it talks like a therapist…
I'm envious of therapists.
After years of study and practice, many develop an uncanny ability to evoke and listen.
They speak fearlessly but fairly. They're strong, yet nonthreatening. They push back while maintaining peace.
I yearn for this powerless power.
I want to listen without planning my next sentences. I want to hear stories uncolored by my opinions.
I want to help people feel safe enough to prod all their heart's hidden chambers.
I want to be unafraid of others' emotions. I want to bravely wade through the full gamut of the soul.
Resources
The current literature is, uh, variable in quality. Some is too academic, some too pithy, some too wishy-washy. I usually enjoy guides that are dense, falsifiable, and opinionated.
If you have any resources/recommendations on the "powerless people power", please email me and I'll add it to the list:
- Atlas of the Heart by Brené Brown: An encyclopedia of emotions. Accentuates all the nuance of the human experience.
- This is Water by David Foster Wallace: A short speech about living and listening from one of the greatest contemporary authors.
- Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents by Lindsay Gibson: Solid framework for understanding and relating to familial trauma.
- Lying by Sam Harris: The definitive work on honesty from a very controversial figure.
- How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie: The basic, commonsense people stuff they should've taught you in elementary school but didn't.
- The Inner Game of Tennis W. Timothy Galleway: A unique book about coaching, meditation, observation, and asking good questions.