The Power Of Touch

By Zaynerb

I was on my phone reading a post. Now I've been listening to her talking about how hurt she is and how much pain she's been through. As she poured her heart out, I made sure to put my phone away to listen to her speak. I did this to make her comfortable and to assure her she had my attention. And as she spoke, I didn't speak, I only listened. Soon she stopped talking. And I said; "may Allah ease our task".  I thought it was all over and maybe she still doesn't entirely feel good, but she certainly feels better. After all I gave her attention. As she lay down to rest I went back to my phone. It was really quiet and I was unsuspecting. Unconsciously, I looked at her and I didn't notice it at first.

She was staring at the ceiling and I kept looking at her. That was when I noticed the tear that rolled down her eyes. I knew that tear very well. Tear that comes silently but bears the heavy weight of immense pain and sadness of the heart. It was tear that falls when the heart is splitting apart. The tear that shows a broken heart. As the tear landed on the pillow, I knew I could hear the sound of her heart crash as the tear hit the pillow.

"What to do?" I asked myself. The usual me would ask; "what's wrong?, why are you crying?". But this time, I decided to do something I've never done. I stood up from the floor where I sat and gently lay beside her. I stared intently at her face and I knew she was waiting for what I had to say. I let the tears flow as I stayed quiet and stared at her face. That was when I did it.

 I took hold of her hand. I expected her to pull back, but no. She held my hands firmly and I knew I had reached her heart. Still not saying a word, I caressed her hand and let her cry. When the tears reduced, only then did I ask her why. I noticed she was much calmer now. And she said the words she didn't say when she ranted the first time. And I knew what the true problem was. I learnt a lot from this encounter with my friend.

First, I learnt that its important to let a person that's hurt cry.

I learnt the power of touch. The power of touch was what gave me access to the pain she kept hidden inside. Many times a person in pain doesn't need anything but a hand to hold and a voice that says "everything will be okay". Touch many times gives way to the heart. Over the years, I have discovered that many times, all you need to get into a persons heart, is a simple touch.

Touch is extremely important as it signals trust. Ever noticed that a person poured out their hearts to you after a warm hug? This is because touch has built a form of trust. A sense of feeling that someone is there to listen. And many times, its a means of assuring people that they are not alone.

You have a friend that's in pain? Maybe the person isn't letting you in.. Isn't telling you what's wrong.. A simple touch might go a long way in relieving your friend of so much pain.

 A pat in the back, a hand over your friends shoulder, a warm hug or simply placing a hand over their hand is a way to comfort a friend in need.

You might want to share with me your experience with touch, I'd love to read from you. Has a touch made you feel better? Has touch relieved your pain? Or has touch helped reach a friend in pain? Share with me your experience with touch.