Last week, as we were cleaning out old boxes, we came across a Thank You card from a young lady we knew many years ago. I recall getting a phone call one evening that she had been admitted into hospital following a mental breakdown. She was so young, beautiful and gentle…what on earth could have caused this setback, we wondered…?
We visited her in hospital that evening, and tried to comfort her. She finally opened up and shared with us her difficult childhood and challenging life’s journey, which we could never have guessed from her confident exterior. She told us that she had fallen in love with a young man we knew at the time, and was devastated to discover that he was not interested in a long term relationship. Several days later she sent us the thank you note for visiting her.
I subsequently met with the young man to enquire about what had happened. He told me that two of them had become friends over the recent weeks and that they enjoyed one another’s company. He was unaware of her growing feelings towards him and had failed to notice the signs that could have helped alert him. He had not looked beyond himself to recognize how their relationship looked through her eyes.
Sometimes, we tend to unknowingly be so self-centered that we fail to recognize how our words and actions impact others. In this case, both of them failed to pick up on the signs that could have helped avert the disaster. My dear friends, the small things that occur in our relationships often serve as beacons of light that can lead us to mutually harmonious and fruitful outcomes. All we need to do is step out of our self-centeredness, and be more attentive, keeping our eyes and hearts open at all times…
©Amyn Dahya
