“How do I be a better friend?” he asked in vulnerability and admission of faults and limitation to discernment. “How do I learn to offer what another wishes instead of proceeding in irreverence?”
His friend listened, processing question before providing answer.
“Listen,” the friend replied. “Think on what another says and shares to you, then respond. You make it more confusing than it is. Listen,” the friend repeated. “They’ll tell you. What they share, start there. Let the rest be.”
He listened.
It was answer he needed, even if not one he wished to hear.