Words and Pain

 Words and Pain

Problems are expressed through words, while pain is communicated through emotions. When we fail to listen to words, we miss the opportunity to connect with emotions. If we don't connect with emotions, we fail as human beings.

In a B2C retail scenario, a customer communicates their problem in just minutes. However, if we don't take a moment to listen, we risk losing a place in their hearts. The same principle applies in B2B interactions, where a discussion might take an hour or so.

Reflect on how many times you have been disconnected from people who wanted to share their problems. Unfortunately, due to a preoccupied mind, you may not have understood their pain. In the process, you not only disappointed someone who trusted you but also slowly lost your place in their heart.

If a political leader in the modern world cannot spare a few moments to listen to a child who wishes to share her pain of losing her parents in an airstrike and her struggle of going without food for three days, they cease to be a true leader. Instead, they become just a political broker working for a weapons manufacturing company.

In 1960, Shri K. Kamaraj, a former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu-India and a freedom fighter, asked a young boy who was herding sheep, "Why aren’t you going to school?" The boy replied, "Who will feed me?" This response led to the creation of a noon meal scheme in the 1960s, which is now regarded as the world’s largest midday meal program. Kamaraj’s willingness to listen and connect with the pain of that young boy resulted in increased school attendance, reduced dropouts, and higher literacy levels in the state.

We are fortunate enough to have listening ears, but if we are willing to connect with the pain of others, we can make a difference in their lives and our own.

M.L. Narendra Kumar