Comfort.
From the time we enter the world as crying, shivering babes to the time we draw a last breath – our brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, and children seek that which brings them comfort in life.
It’s measured in many different ways depending on who we are and where we’re at in life. A pre-school student finds it in a teacher she can trust. An awkward 13-year-old finds it in a group of friends who share a common thread. A college student finds it in a piece of literature or when he grasps a complicated scientific formula. Suddenly everything in life just clicks – maybe for an hour, maybe the click lasts a lifetime.
In relationships, there’s the kind we float through briefly, which may lend passive comfort. We return like an addict, because he or she satiates a basic requirement at least momentarily.
But real and lasting comfort comes through the relationships we enter into purposefully. They are the ones who provide our lives with meaning. They don’t serve up a short-term fix, but rather become a part of our lives…who we are. They represent how we imagine ourselves on our best day. We choose to invest the time and evolve our behavior because these good souls embody the very best of what brings us comfort.
It seems so simple then, when someone passes by who warms a room, breathes in new life and understanding, asks questions, challenges responses, and raises the bar of understanding — that we elect to grasp them and hold on for all we’re worth.
Hold on. That’s what we’ll do.
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