Ben Sweeny shared this
I was moved to tears yesterday morning.
When is the last time someone truly made you feel seen? I’m not talking about a compliment in passing or kind words out of courtesy. I’m talking about something much greater. When someone says something that feels less like words and more like an action. It feels like they are extending themselves into your soul and gently embracing your inner being for a moment in time. It may only last a second in reality, but feels like an eternity. The moment passes, but it stays with you forever. In melancholy times, you can close your eyes and return to the moment you felt so validated and seen. These moments are fleeting, but they can last a lifetime.
Well, I had one of these moments in the office yesterday morning when one of my new hires, Aubrie, walked into my office. I looked up from my monitor and watched her enter.
It was around 6:12 AM. The day was just getting started. She was wearing the company uniform: grey onesie, white sneakers. On her face was the same fearful look a child has after breaking the neighbor’s window.
Her hands were held out in front of her, elbows straight, as if she had handcuffs on like she actually did the day before when she failed to set a meeting during call block.
Her lips were quivering and her body trembling. But in an instant, something changed. She began to smile and smirk at me like there was something I didn’t know.
My nose scrunched, my eyes narrowed, and my head tilted slightly as I waited. I lost patience and said, “Well, what is it?”
She covered her mouth as she laughed and looked at me like I was some sort of beggar. I leaned forward and said, “Start talking or get out.”
She collected herself, breathed in then out, and said, “I called off my wedding.”
I was perplexed. “I didn’t even know you were engaged.”
She moved her head side to side. “Well, I was engaged up until this morning, but the wedding is officially cancelled.”
I remained silent. She could tell I was waiting for more.
She nervously explained, “It’s just that your talk during the emergency town hall last week really struck home with me. When you were explaining how work family is the most important family in the world. And that everything outside is temporary and frivolous and mostly meaningless, and that your work family will never abandon you and that...”
She kept going, but I could no longer hear a single word she was saying.
A beautiful song was playing in my head. I could only hear the vibrations of her words and see her lips moving.
A single tear fell from my face. I felt like a child again. I felt seen. I felt appreciated. I felt loved. I felt warm.
While the moment was precious, I recognized this was a waste of company time. I quickly wiped the tear off my cheek and said, “I don’t have time for this. Get out of here.”
I fired Aubrie 15 minutes later.