Transparency

I seem to know so little about the emotional life of most of my friends.  I’m not even sure that I have much of an idea what is going in their mind. There are a couple of exceptions, but there is a veil that keeps me from being aware of what many are feeling and thinking.

I have contact with friends, but my intuition is limited, my awareness is out of focus.  I think I talk about what moves me in the things I read, the talks I listen to, the experiences I have.  I don’t know how to summon the same transparency from them.   I want to know more what they are experiencing in life.   I want a deep and revealing answer when I ask “how are you?”

I would like our conversations to be punctuated by their recollections of how they felt when this or that happened.   I want to hear more about their uncertainties, their worries, their apprehensions, their joys.

I don’t know how to ask the right questions.   I’m not sure I am listening well.   Maybe I talk and share too much.   I want there to be fewer boundaries and greater transparency between us.  How can I know them unless I can see them?