Awkward…

I was having a conversation the other day with an acquaintance, the kind where we begin with, “How have you been?” And they started talking about the painful plantar wart that they finally had removed recently.

Which is totally fine, of course. After all, I did ask. But there was this moment of “Wait. What?!?” that we both felt.

Awkward…

And you know what? I could have walked away thinking how clumsy and ungraceful they were. Sheesh.

Or… I could have carried away from that conversation that they were perhaps uncomfortable, uneasy, or embarrassed. Maybe even navigating some pain.

We never fully know the situation another is going through, or what they are currently mentally processing. What leaks out when an opening is offered sometimes is a surprise. To them, too.

I notice my own pattern of awkwardness seems to be that when I realize I’m in it, I use even more words to try and clear it up. To speak my way through the initial clownish indication to a clearer, more elegant expression.

Which, seriously, seems to only make me even more awkward in the moment…

How about you?

Awkward times create awkward people.
Including you.

kris carr — I’m not a mourning person

What if, when we find ourselves in our next awkward situation, we realize there’s actually some sort of challenge going on that is the root cause of this awkwardness that has spilled forth? And that it’s only a matter of degree — say, a pervasive hangnail or a broken-down vehicle or the loss of a job or a family member in the hospital….

The unknown underlying struggle may be theirs. Or it may be yours. Surprise.

Even if we never discover what it really is. That isn’t the point.

The point is, hold space. Have grace.

For them. For yourself.