How to be present.

It’s Friendship Friday! This is the day to focus on giving back or paying it forward.

Recently my girlfriend lost her husband to cancer. They had been married over 20 years, he was a retired Marine, and had led a very similar path to my husband and I. He was 53 and had retired just two years after my husband. But shortly after he retired they found a tumor. He conquered it once but not the second time.

So why am I talking about this? Well, because it makes me wonder what I can do to help her. And, honestly, not a lot. It’s part of life, unfortunately.

Instead I started to search online for how to be present, how to be a friend, or what to say when someone is grieving. There were some interesting things listed but here is what I found.

The number one thing that was written about was to listen. Be present. Don’t interrupt. Just listen.

And the other thing was to ask how you could help. Instead of jumping in and doing, ask first.

I hope these help you. For me they are a great reminder that the best of intentions may not always be received well, so make sure to ask and then listen.

Happy Crafting!

With inky fingers,

Joni 🙂