Simple Solutions

Simple solutions are sometimes the best.  Having come to see me because of a case of the blues, Angela, one of my all time favorite clients, was simple and uncomplicated.  So what made her one of my all time favorite clients?  She was real.  Although a “born again” adherent to her faith, Angela wasn’t out to convert anybody.  She truly loved, respected, and trusted all people despite the fact that she had been violently used and abused more times and by more people than I care to recall.  She didn’t let her negative experiences with people hinder her love for them.  Our conversations were simple yet profound.  We spoke of simple faith in the Divine.  We spoke in simple terms about complex topics such as love, friendship, and the human condition.  Through viewing the complex through Angela’s simple lens’, it became clear how simple and joyful life can be when we let it.  To Angela, friendship was friendship, love was love, and work and giving made the world go round.  I would often sit with Angela thinking to myself, “who’s gaining more from this therapy, me or you?”  Angela was considerate.  She would frequently tell me how much she appreciated my giving her the opportunity to be heard.  She would say, “I love my husband dearly, but it’s not in his job description as a husband to listen to everything on my mind.”  We would do well to emulate Angela’s simple solutions.