Venting

 

Venting

A young lady met a monk to clear her doubts about life. The lady said, "I have family issues that are bothering my mind, but I am unsure with whom I should open up."

The monk replied, "If it is psychological, why don't you talk to a psychologist?"

The lady replied, "It is not psychological, but I want to vent my feelings."

The monk said, "Before you vent out, you should ask yourself whether it should be vented. It would be best if you also asked about the advantages and disadvantages of venting. If you invest a few minutes of your time in such exercises, you might not put yourself into regret in the future.

" The lady said, "That was very helpful. However, I want to know how to select the person I should vent to."

The monk said, "You have decided to vent, so why do you want to worry about to whom you should vent your feelings?"

The lady said, "Since it is a family-related issue, I don't want it to go out." The monk said, "Have you used a locker service to safeguard your valuables?" The lady said, "Yes, I do."

The monk asked, "How do you select?"

The lady replied, "Based on their credibility, trustworthiness & infrastructure."

The monk said, "Apply the same while you select a person to vent your feelings. The person should be credible in not gossiping about others and not talking negatively about themselves and others. You can measure a person's trustworthiness based on their character, compassion, and commitment. Don't vent your feelings unless you know enough about a person."

The lady, doubting herself, asked, "How do we identify such qualities in a person?"

The monk said, "You need to give some time to understand someone before placing your feelings in them. As you did a lot of homework to select the right locker facility, do the same before you want to vent."

The monk reinforced this by saying, "When you vent, your feelings should come out and safely land in someone's mind for a while to be free from negative emotions. It should not be shared with others, adding more pain to you."

The lady said, "Thank you for enlightening me about how to vent my feelings."

M.L. Narendra Kumar