The Opposite Of Pulling Teeth

I like people who join people.

They’re the ones you don’t even have to ask. The ones who just
want to be part of everything. Whatever you’re doing, whatever you’re thinking,
whatever you’re feeling, they’re happy to be there. Physically, emotionally,
spiritually. On board at a moment’s notice.

It’s the opposite of pulling teeth.

Relentless affirmation. Instant encouragement. Endless participation.
Radical acceptance.

You’re never met with a tilted head.

The challenge is, you can’t really teach this. Otherliness,
aka, the willingness to join others, is more of a fundamental bent than a
learnable skill.

What you can do is notice it. And celebrate it. And
model it. And understand why it’s valuable. And give thanks to the people who
practice it. And remember what it feels like to be on the receiving end of it.

And over time, a sort of osmosis of the heart happens.

You wake up and realize you’ve become a joiner, too.

Someone who believes that saying yes to people is the ultimate love language.