%PDF-1.7 1 0 obj << /Type /Catalog /Outlines 2 0 R /Pages 3 0 R >> endobj 2 0 obj << /Type /Outlines /Count 0 >> endobj 3 0 obj << /Type /Pages /Kids [6 0 R 18 0 R ] /Count 2 /Resources << /ProcSet 4 0 R /Font << /F1 8 0 R /F2 9 0 R /F3 10 0 R /F4 11 0 R >> /XObject << /I1 13 0 R /I2 14 0 R >> /ExtGState << /GS1 15 0 R /GS2 16 0 R /GS3 20 0 R /GS4 21 0 R >> >> /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] >> endobj 4 0 obj [/PDF /Text /ImageC ] endobj 5 0 obj << /Producer (dompdf 3.1.0 + CPDF) /CreationDate (D:20251012075711+00'00') /ModDate (D:20251012075711+00'00') >> endobj 6 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 7 0 R >> endobj 7 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 1504 >> stream x}WˎF+2oIރ  a$6Rz\Y _J+b^I$8mo)+rbMSbHѐ@T_ᷲ#uڍo"-Ө=Ks]FynO7w)d$YLBIz_-S;Uș=zNp6<#hO.:*u |{&GRkzHuԘPuWe Z35-UnFq`ٍ4GMy8ğ֚rFmz-3lGB JMX%^_|zlӷK|!&[>6h}AWPoO\g}of1vuO %"F?SEe+pbzZXg!J~Nj!BO$o)Dc=J|`Lm`?/P*q[~',vvB0.CLHy Fupxsr͕v-ր7wƦd ʜtHVmr^ T4B6kmfy2ʊE+0r8;wOԨ@~k%<r5ybL}T}XSUzǯB_)gn-y;\ H( N\]D[8q'!읿ߟ'w>ˁ  õ؏9;ٳ5/WqlӪZ\O~TV-|ѽWUTfi};{}sq0TyMYҫ8J KIlC@Z˻׏ 5N>S[ߧE`ʨ (&}³R` endstream endobj 8 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F1 /BaseFont /Helvetica /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 9 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F2 /BaseFont /Times-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 10 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F3 /BaseFont /Times-Roman /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 11 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F4 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 12 0 obj [6 0 R /Fit] endobj 13 0 obj << /Type /XObject /Subtype /Image /Width 125 /Height 125 /Filter /FlateDecode /DecodeParms << /Predictor 15 /Colors 1 /Columns 125 /BitsPerComponent 8>> /ColorSpace /DeviceGray /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 80>> stream h1  H/nvnvnvnvnvnvnvn۟(G| endstream endobj 14 0 obj << /Type /XObject /Subtype /Image /Width 125 /Height 125 /SMask 13 0 R /Filter /FlateDecode /DecodeParms << /Predictor 15 /Colors 3 /Columns 125 /BitsPerComponent 8>> /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 21501>> stream xɓ%y'pXޖKU֒]݅^ !c3If:ɤØtM:dN J35b(@,nP Twumbq<^d&V/֟퟇7p]<DeD4)XsE|\U8:,L&*_ɤߓ&'?xZ]R:16^zkFh*K*UQ@4ajm\.γBJ[k4>c0 m[Jc8 qD!@ԩ6U!&Ec{)\pv۾t-{@c ;=m%X'ں-!K(-[%*ϱ#L&+u.)6i_}m5R}_!z[:ѐxBA j%|Djƪ\q|#<#(M `m۫0Rj q!5Mm;ic@L66ruIٿ7EM&Ɂi34ILm٦C2pӽۆ9"Um!X($`zT\"ꕦơF+ގ @s9*ɉamC`5-&3ZwD_觮)OS`VcQ:/~r;{N0fzf'%=ue-@RʸIzq\fE嘌>c+6 a9֥{wu'amxc,[(е%ٟsª, fuM(e*2.4_eTHDkXe8Y,!ڈ4kZL,1vxw]f$T'g/?\i[=zjckc(mjc}(b,{{#$OKNK37e`jmx@(D@Ǝ{q2Jj XR(0r'T5z@ڄi۸{F(r<|C+΀dhj>id ʬd"/0T,)M;ʢkJg( )p1;D8#7v m, j9 Z R)DR(j*ucU[7Նe֍U^ ^g_ -Ҷ;w% Ľw\[8 Rz#,qXO.Ki(ۚ/1 {2CPJOv: WU\T<0UغŅ6!c4z T lƀ2jqw4'(usk1V,ԣ|<9*!=|i-,R.Kr3PXRPⱐR⅌SⳐ!Ft$(n^'q1Qϋqsu#D&"#9|E=m=`A~ vknLUsBDSzxԩ=O߭d;6E a4w7Ù1r˶ǠҝuswI?.6j78 T5b!%g&`SNj]S<1.(Qs>jiD BBJcT\\lhV+*`v/(9d L>_sgeU @'+J9~r^( ]80_뇯I־p}4F"նG DA 65RUR00d7-W1> ( h{6)Y@DZZ۴ Q'~m=/6iXmmL m)2ȵ&7K+""Gq@Sya?}T4 Ş3 gajvZ̘v_ʓb^0;{)$M:kR8|CLvRg # .dQ\'Caֵֆr+l,e4$ (a ;cmYMk@eEU:hh,"sKu "8QM:~gl!b2 {.c=p$Q4q> <n\zEaT⋦Wb4#E%4J,С\`1.2rZY{b1GQzOmc GXjtHpEhBY. cGcȝv&7I~(4z,?( w٢,gWوx98R1aQ*0n%3)2T*驉cYJʲvKh{42RU:c4"r׶F+Y@km14/0|Pk%^g=?n @KH(C4C4 `f<^tɣZm"hm|[qkƨݡV@{=o <:L쬔+^:=rtT53"qVֺQ70F`fv +T5פ4MrPq6^LYRi]EY"ՆsmEYʲuU`3ዾ9q-%-4 B`^E'Ex2)UU P&t4y -iw( S=gXQ.3$RE.-HS۫l14XT.KK$ ExX(=ˢƫu>xnQ(8Ң7@:MӤQ쬧S?&Mi(MYbs9$MV '02s֦+U 5ARB-낊.{J7: F:H?sT ̉Mm(v{w/cܬGsA@HsRa8}ߺX&k*DnF{<.(Tu!Yl뼶Xmȉ,%WG/C"wtzCDRk4ڐ'8 8R}O3]2)5-W[^@Tpv&1(16txel@w3'*D79suA. N*mCRL^SBDX.kԠ>VguC}r]XZ,M),iPf3-J!FmĆ /;]g:޸ϜQ:5RVg/݈J`Xx *GQ Tu(ײ1ޭ(UY[frvGUmQϴѪim`u.M9aB%g*k->|li'YYFRQd6J{b2'd 2_ \TeGoWi8r)%i$bXSDbqzr yr5*hp ! S%1j˳QLM̈́G-a%|jkq-5R"i府[Q\M{3< ]&'Aa8!nx̓X(䲷e搢\&\@ Hr~8^~REM XP0GJ\&b%l* ٯR-/+$Mɽ*̳9r9W:=]$iFa0Y-ˊ Eڦz4p 3}냖pvqۀvhjmr:ӯk\Ǎ>! @U[m eʸ D-'>*Y/y_I:Hn+D*DѴI\ڜ͍ഭj7-KU(sr~^y1Q@p1CGԬuYJ\e:ӱP(יyi9쪾F9 NH!;yGOݜ+1 x~@8WVdoNv6iY dˢ[_{@K+Um,#y}@ouf #ԧU#8/N05F|`E`50mh M6upMt  -g̓_y &M˲-<;r:Q#)Uc[[V-%-R4okDI'ݐԹl'iP{W,/jMmR-j !zad6"FOߙA"@Цf)~+`!^JM8LD+O<Ҕ埾?{/?2F)MmK)vƶvc E㹉h-eBJkk6~ E~{3]saàmeZ!P}L]ۦgSe[E5# bf o~TL.+G٭{@tNp\VjN%02*+!D8;wHM|n_"S6^VE1ᜆbh7mTXLͩM:m qAZ 7S"\]htĈ/\H@6h2-~g's%Yx/{;r--U=I"U Sk@qL mm)l 8ôС׬tL18oC/5pa l}3F;2k]^Jq{qHYNW_)&)Λs45w 6kɎ2jtk[Է@PR['wD. [n.=|󵯾t86`$ND:Gf3(TQ<}Z<Ԟ.֝|U873b\p\{~\TExkKb@ i  Y"H*fmSY։m{uLqKs%}{)e4ؤK(t2:&7wϱ}kqH߾3z(KunFePa'3#4Zq\^Cܘչ,ІOв{ IE.3RoO[,sXZ[t\8/dΦɍt:CGϗ,U\2wdB.t.e[> Mu"م BLPծ#tQjil<Mm +dGq0%8oF^Qd׫ɛ.Ix+a2mã]6Z4/߾8i\j .$h2^N$ mOQx@*k8:IB'gܥUPBK[VNG F7c \#NbYn/Wn80ee$ŠhSKUt'ċl偈c͗w8jVuq<rR|8N{nzU6R]~C^35;%~"O7Q{$mbklJ{S{ ⭔ݤ/OϏ=ֶ2wa491c|:Ih(Fܟld$ y8'g/L={17fx6Zeԅv'RY+5Ԇr0$2ڼeXȲNIai6Zj}}-^eZ-K`YZuxs)b?|:^-Co>}:?y,#qKdzi6a@&#\Ik"T(i/8@%k% ZuěUg'E7f8.DZ:NoY˺@ѲnR):3RSCnĜIUɺW"5aԸJӳ^SB\ hCGqQզ/?OnуhJ G;Г;^^:B\Um(%M @N9ɲ>|ԃF$ӎd(Ljկ>|q7}0ٳp%jE׺7, 8um ')]Wctapo/W aڙ#{+hCoj4~=ouDU7J.BѳWy^-RkrxUWZ>~:7ljK*8~@z5!#nD=uASA۴" |GT0}5gڮp)c+;9`Cp#ӝ4UwN&ʥwoLy8wx0Eyy!sJ3Ϋv*D&,\YY{Z(J? 8w>}q-7ZbYfkHo` 8з?dh=6l43C:Dn}"]=Lޚ}ENHecFEs7JlFH'=o ;ػ?!;p=xXsJN9-i](| Ia\-/׹fch8>/uҶ8qQ8=-ݟN·L߾3,op:K5""oNw )tKiX] (g/oy\2mJ1v̓Di{11C "(f,ݔ)F@}3:\޻kL->F!mGȾ?ov**˥ӝ}r֦Q.eaeǒf*˩0LKΆ_]~eB 7pJ"ʂ¯1/Cp]_ngzi$z]Nd'(U$|@ܻ\j]ETTґ6'<"[S],,o%X@)9"b7Jn2 5T.zֳmC) JBI쥥<AN/хֺ>K.B'⟾xʜX㕽捑K빬L+eXI:yDꉜSTAkE&JI6ʵ0[f[)#"X p |/*m+bˢ8b..dZi+0oÑS`=Qn<(QeOdju@$[A/Ti K\<*M5AC4@>%P7׃Ǐ?)ѦrzU 0y;y0u{al{llۓUUF[I: K9tN ,zAI@ץF)mx[UAx)q[UCs~:[fMg_{U҄uۗ3au/7߻}#" 0+w+x`?|U}?$鯕Q$b֜8bwrOw&?tw:4OϚ &,0Knҙՙ_R볓ûo  b.ഌKWofdyؾaRszY`ӄ}g~]4Atnro^z{hܓg̣i7$Gչ1"Z2 ,ƳBncGF>nW^Ž0y -O|vt^*>]3g|aԪ2oicҬRͽby^ua|eSTCm嵚.5[BF>ʼ:z*uoҶ(WY棿=."ץ[dm- ']v&2&d8XRFFIġS]0 j W5ʌ#1WJG7纙?>;ţn @;^p `$~d.4M{;7n,5aw-SMjß6C2wޛHti}l _uV F7ƳݏLWlNBT.4{Uqj'9MeKMeZH 5#~ԥR>'pu6]X,EmS[r bIj&:9Hk|(׃$F?=NOgy +hg4koI]>Śp ˣמ[.roZ^M]ވ[9٬`nO [i.ؤ?{Bq5Aʰiܼ1:Z&3T6f)_oИfz SWiߺ3w~ W?\0"!;{PZ )ќgW@ΩBX}\V]].X8I`UfJ_r1(ЖK-TxR%+ g7o~-rZW[k[KixVքueA.1FĻqۯ޼;N櫷fc?oO~snUh2P!`ghJpz3Ax6̭nj\_ga`W(m O/,= CGA;3F)~=1^ X|YPk彽[xW˄Hh>j|Y=I" U.;+'ɚĭCdY%bwRήLT⬫ϫL͎҇B=ߧUˬ#/ml69j;b"suFoAs!IUW1׵^OQPDM(/bWD v>OUqrq*T96} }z5E3@jjklӘ&M;b;;`'zvtWMP_[I-A4Jn[P:%~(t@Y#Fҧ!>Kq#?HD|>Q8 ?я>5'VgnaiF(:4UAd;Q0E\R>|<fsS0l4$drJɥ& [7"q`$QbG3_ xOΒѮ5lxN6, @KiX? n/KrkMǧˣϐi?b^4QKI3 dhEp!q8׻Q e.A|4Rluۗ땤t_P;hN&a2ΥKpwpwtv󕧮uuEtG !ܷd ~#%O \}Q|QH5j^̗3f< PV=@ZqVVr*@7аe ")i0NzU6CWp?xW7ߧb{ͧ|Y[} |UJwoRM_ݻ8=/;ǯ(`ѭ)u?* c *O9!oƄWuEP`zgkeN=׏u>+W<;nrg@P'fVPP-KYԬTEsawt/ ݸ=7[on)ɝOxEnf{tj\m dC[уOWٿ ⽎ziFLrp=Wo|_tkYJx6U66V)xnrnC"TUD:虈e?BFw΄è se݋V?;w|%]W<{Q_M_s#͛\'E`fjV<IH2\|% /DE#&\ڭw_+pQ.Xl:x뢀]J+9&38+ZDjݙe7[-+^083~%N&ֿ, R.|YP&MWMZJq 0}>P=S'˪i]/!~3m~2OR\|Qz2e|Kʃ~x#6SŪ7nR[LJҠۻLD8TP@AB%?Y(&0NϭY:\TJA 5 V@x<_WW5L\~3 [>92dN}k[P~ ~K l2K5Irsx, 3#[IӧNG_RgkG.\秗4d6wĎ_o+];MY;9}D4?0wܗ(/MToɟ&%X?4T3/P,,?pfKpkY(m^hKy)Ix낟{w)K];?$.;{91Ie8a2:/d"Jf0ݿ!ŷȢXTJ˒EUd<~cL^4ʐR-^ELIY썉nF2xw7< g'UӴmݢG&Ҽ{֮In:悙;KJie;r|ؕ!OyqR<$TTq98#YDRҒ^fwf1;hy,BJvrj t7|ǿr 붐eeQ mo[jA^NU^z<}x܏[wﶬ($9+!SKl5}鉐4/TLJ&7{jq)(˲Y99#4)r𿈄Y0@ aCiƬ=iPјJ|悘kRƆ:|SCd TPdIVXzc=";['Wo)IX+wwp{5Cgݽ-[B/$T+{qW]r< ; 7Xm$)3iTL؟|2(@Z4/ +κJXeYNtĎX."g"!i9@ͩ0YjJ,rY"!"R3e4i.V4aqƴ($Fvxj5*zј_+~HW/~_b7}[~"X^Иj^: ]ݺ}}w6 ﭵ<|w3ufkovK۽Fa2hl& /x\(Rh|xr>:4j`LYrYȦ.aS#//>)LiY!Ϋr&/$_ RݶzilEƏ>z̍ OIT"p3r,ȋ9־o>>kӷPk"彍+HNYid' +ff[-ۯ{K7w蝧!e E7qQ .I885Frz8lQR&0q:㔥^%6>\N$Lb& }P9tGdW~pw޼ni%Ϋ?ӿ;3ګk?r8޵d[WQ轹y'jܺkؕqeJPQ#7yyܸq/9EG/ԭ;aMmw[֝qp2pME5괄Ҵewv O#*u(C" B SCulo}?{O](tEլ Q$Yy~*EE'߿sκ&3A*iZ9˪(TDf{k\M,UdՖiZߗO.:سmsBF ۥI~5s)fiL.~YkV˒N|~Bx: &A?]j9>ܾAѢ2! ee|(0{MCQ0v8I`}ex(jU/~*] H,+O3m[ H"jf-{PrݯP)vvUwXG-N NGXmޕ̺ ãC>&al/GWlcnf9 gy{ EV${;:x:60Inlnxtd*MaH(ѥ/puPקo-yUN:} Lq:GP& ۚM֎ٝ[&^n|0*+-'nGP4 _zgt 5 }Y.m*{@O}сF-:U r_= aqͽ DV?~،if~L%?r'1Ty/= V|~VcV?qȧ>q%[g$0Ύ$W0diptrnZ]4#Swy#)pڦ$AhKjw:1~8uBdz T/E(qV`4~w*_۷8|owήZ/;~ o{q"3@i;ܲ{ =* %̋'8aYqLҔ(6ш%: 1r1$:DYo'2p2qF y$geG^ͅQ| scW`90uioL:ޯn^A2uu?p0ʿ?7>qpw@r8e h7dTYU^4{k&m{mwppYˡ7]/&9#V4θoʥVnsyE ˷̜2j[I-WW0E,Iބj·v]HesomYധqx ђ̍3h܋aB۶1?MNceezWrw' [nj4x*IrC&>K^m%S6򉭙NFlZ90(Gkeҁ qz/֬i'3ޱ07)"70Z 1e~z4Z՛d!7;_) s2.ó܋luEe@+[]3`$Y E h62otyvtQY}a;f]w 1V-*#pe@h&, msX0yMKN295S$AQC,F2ji"Zfl?h(33ǽi@TCدؿ{O8kkeƺ;Guz +A 2 d"ppyeB#[s'p쒇M?+!3m8G@Wiwt pTy/SGZʴ50pyiJeqNiKX ElmFlR~oO}lGc>= >RwdnSdavO|h6$|eū"͜uL>>zC/N>> S]UDUvݾ`}zB[0sXvjC&p 2}1S5=MjSqynaWyS3C/4e2" -'si۶ڮ~}^R78(uY~EHq_55rsgW27,텷ֻpwi8˪RE Ts^6Hc[= qv@Kh0\mtxE&ٟj`݆X zTdOj`}:Kc2[`*-iW99mD[? _&_Ir+>nX6!հ c9瓚U?̕]Fd.A  Yƞb:/* /Du'^U54RU@x+2Ҩ!Y:ux%r> '-@_T,Ibվ] @8\2A  Zry:1 S%gP%T~ R^jQF#B4RTN&/G~p?Ԗk9gR.+_J0rF1l| PkxMET5Ja6gH-?KKdJ4/aV-Dee;GWN<"9T*IiC3\W)ŪdzmY`Y9BN=~QW;Nl^wS#]Cc>jfjX~z ˜/-F_ҍY owūx|N T% /B9^y 0IhtboW&:9*RH4 L<]@,\, _^< i&nڡ#rZ5~] eU˂ʕQʂiY6C3Lm1VY`t?.4ay^Tiŵ$wA '#OꖕY2f~jL cmFM\H#u%Z(vlXRSХ07Wi%!_^$/DhzVNQ^DUUB,d9g]U)ϋݕpAP^pA > endobj 16 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 0.3 >> endobj 17 0 obj [6 0 R /Fit] endobj 18 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 19 0 R >> endobj 19 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 627 >> stream xmTM0WMMpE@J7$VΆ33Nl|fxVϏtnEm$ \mBϓ2M/7m`)-7=hch[=(ftͲ⼱"Bz۟ Wb*g/"b&xz(LD{<YDGрԄ}йwҟg9> endobj 21 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 1 >> endobj xref 0 22 0000000000 65535 f 0000000009 00000 n 0000000074 00000 n 0000000120 00000 n 0000000417 00000 n 0000000454 00000 n 0000000603 00000 n 0000000706 00000 n 0000002283 00000 n 0000002390 00000 n 0000002498 00000 n 0000002608 00000 n 0000002721 00000 n 0000002750 00000 n 0000003074 00000 n 0000024835 00000 n 0000024894 00000 n 0000024953 00000 n 0000024982 00000 n 0000025087 00000 n 0000025787 00000 n 0000025844 00000 n trailer << /Size 22 /Root 1 0 R /Info 5 0 R /ID[<790d4468cd384e92e73b449dde7c75db><790d4468cd384e92e73b449dde7c75db>] >> startxref 25901 %%EOF Why we need to stop fixing and start listening | Caring Magazine
focus on listening instead of fixing

Why we need to stop fixing and start listening

Listen to this article

We’re human. I think sometimes we forget that. So, let me say it again: We’re human. And humans go through difficult things; we wrestle and we struggle. We experience broken relationships, lost loved ones, trauma, addiction, sickness and fear.

In general, we don’t know how to support one another well as we move through difficult things. I know that I can think of so many times where I have been speechless when a friend is going through something difficult; where I simply don’t know what to say and so I create distance.

And on the other side, I can think of so many times where people rushed into my difficulty to try and fix me or to fill the silence, when what I really needed the most was for someone to sit with me and listen; where I simply needed someone to be with me.

Have you ever been there? You know the place. It’s where your heart feels in pain, but people keep sending you frozen casseroles, staying busy all around you, trying to give you strategies to overcome the hurt you’re feeling. Meanwhile, all you are longing for, truly longing for, is their intentional presence here with you.

It reminds me of Jesus with the woman who had been caught in adultery. She is in the epitome of struggle and brokenness. And all these people are casting judgement toward her ready to punish her for her sin—they are trying to fix her, so that she may be pure again. And Jesus goes and he bends in the sand with her. He got to her level; he restored her soul by being with her and then, he spoke the truth in love.

Isn’t that such a powerful model to follow? He removed all the distance. He established connection first. Then, he spoke truth that forgave her and set her free.

Here’s what I am convinced of: I am convinced that what we need is less fixing and more listening. We need less advice-giving and more being with people. We need less stone throwing and more kneeling in the sand. Because isn’t that what we’re all after? Relationships, feeling connected, and finding people we can call home.

We don’t need more perfect lives, perfect feeds and perfect stories. We need more people who are willing to get real with where they are and who will head into the mess to sit with people and listen. So the next time you see a friend struggling in difficulty, let’s make a commitment.

A commitment to embrace the uncomfortable and awkward. A commitment to ask people what they really need. A commitment to not give up or give distance at the hardest points. And a commitment to do whatever we can to walk with people through the light and the dark.

Because I think what our life is measured by is not our successes or even our followings, but truly measured by how we walk with and love people.

You May Also Like