Storytelling

Recently I was talking with a woman about dads (a little background on how we got on that subject--as we started talking her dad called and she answered it and their conversation reminded me of one of mine with my dad after she hung up I told her so) and she shared that her mom had just died a month ago. She shared (after I asked) that although her mom had been frail she died rather suddenly and her dad was now 'broken hearted'. What a sad story. The most amazing part was here she is sharing this story and was clearly having mixed emotions a. she needed to talk about it and b. she didn't want to burden a complete stranger--so common that we all are dealing with our own pain and burdens and frequently when we share our story with someone it sounds more like a news report or that we are talking about the weather then the fact that we are in major pain. It strikes me how rare it is to have people who REALLY listen to our stories without judgment or advice or wanting to share their story--just that concept of 'holding the space' for someone. Who do you have in your life how truly listens to your stories? Whose stories do you truly listen to?