A Truly Listening Ear

I AM SORRY TO INFORM MY READERS THAT FROM TODAY I WON'T EMBELLISH MY DAILY BLOG WITH SUITABLE GOOGLE PHOTOS, AS IT SEEMS THERE ARE SOME COPYRIGHT PROBLEMS.

How fulfilled are you in your relationships? Ask yourself if you are giving more than you receive, or if you expect others to give you more than what you are willing to give. Here, I am not referring to material things, although also these might be taken into consideration. What I am mainly referring to is availability, time. Each human being needs to receive somebody else's attention, to be listened to, to feel they are cared for (pets do the same, don't they?). Therefore it might be useful for you to make a sort of inventory about your metaphorical "income" and "expenditures" in this field. Do you feel you are dedicating enough of your time, of your attention to the people who might need them? Partner, siblings, elderly parents, friends, maybe even a simple acquaintance who shows the need to talk or share? After examining your attitude, your behavior and your feelings towards this issue, you can now think about how much you receive, when it is you who needs to talk or share. Do you feel that the person you would like to confide in is available, or are they too busy, too wrapped up in their own lives that all they can offer you is a distracted ear, while clearly thinking of something else? Their lives are too busy compared to yours, therefore you might be brought to think - it's only fair to have your need overlooked. Well... I am not too sure. Caring also means finding the time, beside giving physical help when needed. Relationships are more complicated than they seem because feelings are involved, beside the actual interaction. That is why it would be worthwhile for you to examine your own relations, think about them and endeavor to understand them. It's possible that some of your down moments may be caused by a possible not yet identified feeling of lack in this area.