“But oh! the blessing it is to have a friend to whom one can speak fearlessly on any subject; with whom one's deepest as well as one's most foolish thoughts come out simply and safely. Oh, the comfort - the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person - having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together; certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then with the breath of kindness blow the rest away.”
― Dinah Craik, A Life For A Life
Well, what more is there to really say than that? While I was in the Snow College Women's Choir, we sang a song based off of this (link in author notes). As we were learning it, we had a very in-depth discussion about the lyrics and meaning of the song, and our director, Dr. Michael Huff, had some wonderful things to say about it.
Since we are a women's choir, we mostly discussed it's relevance to women, and while I found it a fascinating conversation, I'm not going to repeat it.
Rather, I thought I would ponder these words' relevance to... well, everyone. I can't really know, but I would assume that everyone in this world has things that they don't dare to say to anyone. I believe that everyone has some hope, fear, longing, or desire that consumes many of their waking thoughts and hours. I also believe that many would do anything in their power to keep those things a secret. Whether it's because they're afraid of judgement, afraid to disappoint people, or simply afraid that nobody would really care, they keep it to themselves.
But how wonderful it would be for someone to know, for someone to understand! There have been many times when I've longed to have someone just listen to me, and help me sort through my thoughts; "keep what is worth keeping, and... blow the rest away". Wouldn't we all love to have someone like that?
More recently, I've been wanting to be someone like that. I wish that I could know-- really know-- someone, that I could be the person that they go to when something good happens, the person who comforts them when they hurt. I know that I have a long way to go before I can be that person. I'm not nearly kind enough or attentive enough, and that's just the start of it. But I really think that I can change. I want to change. For the first time in a long time, maybe the first time in my life, I finally feel ready to change. And who knows? Perhaps one day I'll have become worthy of someone's trust.
Author Notes: https://www.jwpepper.com/sheet-music/media-player.jsp?&type=audio&productID=10593347
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United States • 22 years old