We All Want To Be Heard

The meeting ran late, I scrambled to get my things together, my taxi was waiting, and the airport was still a 45-minute drive away…

The cab driver walked up to carry my luggage to the car and I was a bit taken aback. 

There stood a young man who was extremely disheveled with wrinkled, dirty clothes, body art, and unkempt hair.  

Frankly, I was surprised at the unprofessional appearance of someone serving clients at this resort...  

I introduced myself and asked him his name. It was Danny.

On the drive to the airport, I asked Danny questions about how he got to this town, what brought him to this job, what are his goals and aspirations, what did he see for his future… 

We had an amazing conversation. I learned so much about him.  He was a bright, smart, sweet young man who had family challenges that brought him to Florida. 

He literally had nothing and none of his family even knew where he was; driving the taxi was the first opportunity he had come across for work. Although,  he has dreams of starting his own business. As we talked through what that would look like, and what steps he needed to take in order to accomplish that goal, his spirit grew bigger and bigger. I offered him encouragement and ideas to implement his dreams. 

He told me that no one had ever asked him these kinds of questions and talked to him the way I did.

Have you ever met someone that you immediately judged based on their appearance, their education, the family situation... but when you dig deeper you learn that there is so much more than what meets the eye? 

Is it you that can feel judged or not accepted by others? 

We all have our stories; there are some that we may think had a privileged life only to find out that there were dysfunction and abuse as well as those who are obviously struggling. 

Regardless, each and every one of us has the desire for encouragement and being heard. 

The next time you are around someone that you would rather avoid...try striking up a conversation or at least give a smile of acknowledgment.

You never know what your kindness and interest can mean to someone else and how much it can mean to you as well. 

When was the last time you felt seen or heard by a stranger? Share your experience!