Friday, July 27, 2007

Don't Know Any Better

“What should I do?”
“What must be done?”
“Why won’t she listen?”

He is frustrated.
She is in pain.
They are confused.

“It’ll be okey.”
“Do this.”
“Do that.”

I suggest.
I counsel.
I comfort.
Or try to.

Inside me, I sigh.

“Don’t ask me!”
“I don’t know.”
“I can’t help you.”

I don’t know any better!
I don’t DO any better.

They ask me this.
They ask me that.

“Counsel me.”
“Hear me.”
“Help me.”

But I don’t know how!
Can’t even follow my own advice.

I'm as weak as you.
As helpless as you.
Make mistakes like you.
Stumble like you.
Whimper like you.

I don’t know any better.

...and sometimes, I don’t want to come alongside.
...and sometimes, I just can’t come alongside.

I can’t.
I wish I can.
Will a hug do?

...and I need to fight my own battles.
...and you need to win your own wars.

Ask Him!
He can.
He wants to.
And He will.

After all, He did say,
"Come to me , all of you who are weary and burdened,
and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28.

17 comments:

Queenbee said...

sometimes i feel exactly like that, especially when the one who's asking for help is a good friend of mine who knows no better and expects me to provide the answer. talk about pressure :)
so what do i do?.... i say something which i think is right and hope it works ( all fingers crossed)

vernaloo said...

I hear you. It's easy to give advices...sometimes you can even give advices that you get from watching Grey's Anatomy or from the movie "Someone Like You"...you just change a certain word and you can make it your own na hehe alam mo yun, para may masabi lang hehe

Seriously I believe maganda pa rin yung galing talaga sa experience mo, may basis kumbaga. But then again, it's no guarantee. What worked for you may not work for him or her. Sabi nga nila...different strokes for different folks. I guess the best thing is to know what you really want to happen in your life. I always believe that the human spirit is amazing...we seek our friends to comfort us and give us kind words but we know deep in our hearts the answer to our questions.

Lazarus said...

very nice post! inspiring!

Anonymous said...

Ay grabeh! Halos dumugo ang ilong ko sa lalim ng post na to... :-D

So does that mean I shouldn't come to you for advice? ;-)

Anonymous said...

or maybe sometimes it's better to just listen and say, I hear you.

Often, when venting to someone, I expect nothing back. Just hear me, just listen.

Sometimes a hug works just as good as a sound advise. Add a smile and it seems heaven.

Jap said...

LoL@Vernaloo! I also give out advice based on pop-culture and it always makes sense. But I always quote the source hehehe

Gypsy, a hug will do, a listening ear too. And you are right, He did say that and I think He meant it when He did. =)

Anonymous said...

Amen Gypsy!
Now to try and take that advice myself...
San

Anonymous said...

Ever since I have discovered Lord Jesus in my life, I felt that whenever I call Him, He would listen and in matter of days, my prayers are mostly heard and have been responded to positively.

Such is the power of prayers and I believe in that so well.

Anonymous said...

Deep nga ito! Sent you a song via email that might interest you: Two Cents by Shaun Groves. Nice song and message.

zherwin said...

i am not also good with giving advice, but i am a good listener, and yes, a hug will always do.

Gypsy said...

Queenbee, thanks for dropping by. Pressure nga if its for friends since we do care what happens to them and we do hope that our advices are really helpful!!

Verns, hehe, true, true! I do pick up gems of wisdom from this TV shows, too. My collection nga ako of "wise sayings" from TV and movies...maybe will post then one of these days. ;)

Lazarus, thanks!

Snglguy,OA ka, Ahia! :)Anyway, depends what advice you need, if its like where's the nice place to eat or about your lovelife..I would be more confident in giving you advice on the former. Hehe.

Intsik, thats the difficulty, pag pagud ka na rin...hmm...why is annamanila's name in brackets??

Mon, I know, problema ko kasi medyo control freak din ako, if someone shares about their problems, feeling ko I need to advice--hehe, I know, ako yata me problema...

Jap, amen to that!

San, great that your commenting, do it more often! :)

Major Tom, yes, prayer is always the greatest help but most often the last resort...thanks for the reminder, brother!

Beng, hey thanks, I have yet to listen to the song..will do so soon!

Jffklein said...

i felt guilty...

i must admit. i'm not a regular church goer but i do have chants and prayers of my own...

somehow, god answered all my rants.

i'm just too ungrateful for his kindness..huhuhuhuhuhuuhuh

Gypsy said...

Zherwin, thanks..ako din hindi masyadong good listener, I had to discipline myself to listen and not jump in with an advice somewhere in the middle of a conversation.

Geisha, yes --God hears! And listening to Him through sermons and His Word gives us strength and wisdom. ;)

Forever59er said...

Some people just want to vent .. they don't really want to be told what to do. Just listen? Make the sympathetic sounds? Help the troubled friend straighten some things ... to get the right, unbiased perspective? Sometimes you help just by listening di ba> Hope you friend/s see the way through the difficulty.

Marilyn said...

don't we all feel this way most of the time? But that feeling of weakness if why people find it comforting when we come alongside- then it is as an understanding friend, not a frowning judge!

Gypsy said...

Anna, yeah I realized that, but I think you realize how much emotional energy it takes just to listen...

Marilyn, hey great you can comment na. Sometimes I honestly cannot relate to the problems but I would just be there as a loyal friend, I guess...

exskindiver said...

due to my lack of internet...was not able to keep up.
this was good.
i definitely get it.
breathe, take a step back--everyone deserves that.
and amen, thanks for the reminder.