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Great Days

One of the things I've loved most about the roles I've taken on is the last two years is being able to listen to peoples' stories. Some of that has simply been a normal part of living in a place with people from all over the world, working alongside different groups that come up, and having really interesting conversations over dinner or a cup of tea.

 Partly it's also my job. Part of my role is to sit down and have 'one-to-ones' with people. These are essentially check-in meetings where volunteers talk through personal issues or professional challenges. They can be formal and scheduled or informal and fairly random. Mostly I listen and help them to talk things through. It's not my job to be a fount of wisdom and advice and quite frankly I don't have the answers to life's questions. What I can do is be a useful sounding board, I can listen and I can ask pertinent questions.

 So why do I enjoy them? People have commented that it must be hard to hear all of peoples' 'stuff' and they're right it can be challenging. As a 'fixer' I like to know that I could do something to solve someone's problem and it took me a long time to realise that I didn't have to. People can solve their own problems but you can help them along that path. This is the bit I enjoy. I know I've had a good day when I've done something that helped someone to start processing something themselves or I've picked up on something they weren't aware of or tweaked their rota so that they work with a group that challenges them more or have a much needed break.

 There's a similar feeling when working with a group or when teaching. There are 'click moments' when you notice that something has significantly changed and that can never be undone. They've learnt something that fundamentally changes their understanding and maybe, in some small way, I helped that happen. Those are great days.
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