There is an old Jewish story about a woman who stopped going to the synagogue. One day the rabbi went to see her and asked to sit with her by the fireplace. For a long time, neither spoke. Then the rabbi picked up the fireplace tongs, took a lone glowing coal from the fireplace, and set it on the hearth. As the two watched, the piece of coal slowly lost its glow until it died. A few minutes later, the old woman said, "I understand. I'll come back to the synagogue."
Sometimes we don't have to say anything to make our point. "Actions speak louder than words," the phrase goes.
I have found that sometimes just sitting with someone quietly can be comforting. Our tendency can be to want to say something to make things better. Our presence and our time are often the most important gifts that we can give someone.
When we do speak, it is important that our actions be consistent with our words. Ralph Waldo Emerson said: "What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say." It is something to think about as we go through the many encounters that we have during a week.
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