People may be nothing like you expect them to be…
A hospital, a place where the extremes of life come together: birth, death, untameable happiness, uncontrollable screams filled with pain, relief, fear for the future, determination, tears and hope. People are strong. People cope in the most wonderful, unique way. Stories are difficult. Every day you hear something new. Parents losing their children, people hoping to hear the words telling them they are cured from cancer, complicated births with the mother ending in coma, people waiting for their loved ones to wake up, people saying goodbye to people who were always there. Each story is different, each story is unique and each story is hard. Often the same people are around every day, waiting, longing, hoping for the best. Yet the gratitude, patience, peace, acceptance and tolerance they have are amazing. It becomes clear that each human being is exceptional. Not just in coping when life hits the hardest, but also in how life shapes them differently along the way. That is why I love listening to people. Not just listening to then put it aside, no, really listening. Taking in the story they have to tell, questioning it, thinking about it, feeling the hurt, the ache and the happiness. Sometimes a simple story can give me goose bumps. You can learn so much from listening to one another instead of assuming and drawing conclusions without knowing. Of course you can’t always agree, but sometimes acceptance and honesty can be enough. Even without agreeing there can be understanding. Isn’t it crazy to know that people are so different on the one hand, but at the same time they go through similar struggles, similar questions and carry along similar secrets indifferent from age, culture, ethnicity and gender.
Every day the world keeps on surprising me. People keep on surprising me. Fill me with curiosity, hurt me, make me smile, challenge me and make me wonder. Both the pain and the happiness make life so beautiful. What is one without the other?
A few days ago I met up with a friend that I actually know from birth, or even from before if you take into account that our parents became friends during pregnancy. We went through all the different phases of life together. Sometimes close together, sometimes further apart. Life keeps on changing us independently, yet each time we come back together and stories can be shared. If we are honest, having friends and keeping friends requires an effort. You need to invest time and let people enter inside the walls you built to protect yourself when life hits the hardest. Letting people in makes you vulnerable and can result in you getting hurt, but at the same time it is brave to let your guard down and it is the only way to really make people part of your life in one way or another. By letting people know you and by knowing them you can support each other. And if we are honest, nothing feels better than a surprise message from someone telling you they are thinking of you, reminding you they are around if you need them to be or simply showing they know the you hidden within. Let every day surprise you. People may be nothing like you expect them to be, but may be everything you wanted.
