"As a man thinks in his heart, so is he."

Why do I so love hearing and reading other people's thoughts and writings? Because it tells me what they care about; because they put a piece of themselves in it, and I feel honored to have access to that piece and place it in a treasure chest of precious tokens from those cherished people in my life; for the reaction they get from me, and the happiness I get from knowing that my reaction has satisfied so fully the person who sought that reaction, because they "ached with caring" about the subject and so desperately wanted someone else to "ache with caring" about it too...someone to understand their passion and validate it. Or someone to laugh with them over a funny thought that he just can't contain because his own delight in the thought bubbles up so beautifully over the cusp of his own heart and mind that it must escape and seek out another heart to fill up too. My life is about coming to know people and nurturing relationships with them. I truly ache with caring about meeting their needs; supporting their endeavors; discussing their struggles; holding them up when their heart is weary; and laughing with them when they are happy. I simply ache to care. For this reason I place a tremendous amount of value upon words -- thought, spoken, and written -- because I know that any and all words that come out of someone's mind, pleasant or unpleasant, are precious glimpses into who that person is, and they give me insight for how to best understand and honor that friend. It is for this reason, I listen.