To feel known and loved

“All hearts have but one request. One simple, unspoken, undeniable need. One undeniable fear.

To be known.

You can stamp it out. Kill it. Box it up and hem it in. Numb it and close the door. Bury it and nail it shut. Encase it in stone. But eventually, the needs of the heart will tear the door off the hinges, unearth it, and crack the stone. No prison ever built could house it. Those of us who think we can are lying to ourselves. And those next to us.

Hope never dies.”

Yesterday I got to teach a three-hour workshop on empathy with an incredibly engaged and very courageous group.

Then with soul-shaking confirmation, I read the above words before sleep in the book I’m reading by one of my all-time favorite authors, Charles Martin.

People don’t need to be fixed.
We aren’t broken.
We need to feel known and loved.

What would it be like to create that space at work?