Sometimes we believe we know a person by the way they act or live their life. We make assumptions. We examine their choices and decisions. We jump to conclusions, and we can become quick to judge.
It’s easy to see someone and decide there’s no connection to be made. But life has a way of humbling us, doesn’t it? Suddenly, we’re faced with their truth, their story, and we realize how wrong we were to think we understood them without ever really knowing them.
What connects us are our stories and experiences. But to truly connect, we must have ears of compassion. We must be willing to listen. We must want to understand.
How often do you long to be understood and seen? Everyone does.
I know that feeling deeply. Growing up as an adoptee, I never felt truly seen. I felt alone and isolated, and nobody knew it—partly because I never shared it. I had no biological family. I carried so many questions that nobody could answer, and none of this was ever discussed. For years, I bore that weight in silence.
We just never know what others hold inside.
It wasn’t until I became a mother in my mid-twenties that I began to heal and acknowledge the wounds I had carried for so long. Being a mother gave me a connection I had never felt before, and it helped me begin to see and understand myself in ways I couldn’t before.
The truth is, we’re all reflections of one another. And those reflections, if we look deeper, aren’t like staring into a mirror. They’re like reaching into the ocean. The surface may shimmer, but there is depth—depth filled with stories, struggles, and experiences waiting to be understood.
We all have a story. Take the time to listen, and you’ll be amazed at what you find.
The Wild Gems 