Vent Off

There are times when people just need to vent. 
To talk out their fears, their frustrations, their excitement, their joy. 

The problem?
There isn't always someone there to listen to them.
Or if they are there...they aren't listening. 

And it's probably become second nature for those who get carried away with talking...to feel...bad about 'wasting' people's time. 

Because life...life is crazy. It's busy. People have schedules. Have things to do. Have their own concerns to focus on.

So when someone actually takes the time to sit, to listen, to let the person talk it out.

It probably feels really weird.

So.
Yesterday.

I had two of these experiences. 
Where two friends of mine, at different times in the day, in different places....
Needed to vent.

One was about excitement, joy, relief. Because a major stressor in their lives turned out to be less of a of a worry than previously thought. And the relief that the stressor had ended up well, had been quick, relatively painless...when they were worried that the thing was going to be super painful.
It was palatable the relief they felt. The excitement that this major problem was in reality a minor problem and it was all looking up for the better. 
And it was just one of those emotions...where you just kinda gotta go tell someone. 

lol. And I happened to be nearby -at work- when my friend needed to find an outlet to let out the emotions they were feeling.

Though usually, it's not always the easiest to talk to me at work...because I usually am in the middle of helping customers. And unfortunately while I enjoy talking to friends, when I'm at work, work has to take priority, which means I need to choose helping customers over talking with friends. 

But strangely enough.
When my friend came in yesterday....the store was dead.
Like there were no customers whatsoever who needed my help in my department.
Which does happen, though usually it's only a lull of maybe 10-15 minutes....
However, yesterday, during this time when my friend needed to vent...
No one came into my department for almost an hour.

It was nearly an hour at work, where I was able to just talk and listen to my friend and let them work through their varying emotions so that they could be more focused and such.

And it's kinda crazy how that worked out lol.

And my friend was constantly like "I'm sorry for venting." 
To which I was like. "Don't be? Sometimes you have to vent." 

I mean, I wasn't busy, there were no customers, so I felt no pressure to end the conversation early or anything. So why not let my friend vent and sympathize with them? *shrugs*

Then later yesterday evening, when one of my roomies came home,
They too ended up venting a bit.
About an ongoing struggle with a previous roomie that they had before moving in here. 
And it was just really a need to let off steam. To say the things that they couldn't say to the person, to get their frustrations and irritations and issues out into the air so that they could finally move past the emotion and get on with life.

And again, after half an hour or so of this venting, they too were apologetic. "Sorry for venting." 
Again, to which I was like *shrugs* You're good.

I can recognize when someone needs to vent. When they need a listening ear.
I'm easy going enough that I can usually put plans on hold, or adjust them as necessary to allow for these moments. 
It's just one of those abilities...gifts? That I have. To be a good listener, a sympathetic ear, someone who can let a person vent and help them to feel better about themselves. 

Plus, I can totally understand how venting can help make a problem clearer to the person, help them see solutions that they couldn't see before when they stayed silent. Sometimes voicing aloud the issue helps to relieve the stress because at least now someone else knows the stress you're under, even if they can't do more than listen to you about this stress...at least they know it's happening. 

So hopefully...yesterday I was able to do so. Be the ventingboard that my two friends needed at that moment. 

Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi