Nice blog!

Why don’t you consider writing about some of the new “India 2.0” sites that are creating a little buzz as well?

Eg: http://www.ilaaka.com

http://www.onyomo.com

Thanks!

Rajeev

Entertainment Book

Search Engine Submission

hmm…i dont know about all these people..
but you make a very reasonable and interesting point. And this would be the answer to..why do we need doctors? to help those people who want to be self-sufficient… those who dont want to bother friends with their problems…. totally see ur point.

Uh….may I suggest you need either to touch-smell a dead body….or watch a few desert sunrises. It’s obvious you know nothing of life.

Why have sex when there’s a lot of hookers around?

I’ll consider your comment an outlier to your usually intelligent ideas.

Well Phil. You’ve spilled your guts all over the web when your dog died, obviously not without a reason. You’ve also mentioned how your friends were supportive at that moment. It seems you are ready to accept it when you are suffering but when it comes to other people it becomes a nuisance for you. If you were a men and consistent with your own views you should’ve kept it quiet and go cry to your therapist for a healthy fee.

Kostya

Ahh, Mr. Greenspun,

Interesting post, as it suprised me, even though I have been reading your works for some time now. As for your topic, a dear friend of mine is one of those individuals, who, as you put it, “care[s], truly, deeply, professionally.” She is also one of those truly empathetic individuals that Mr. Bloom mentions above, and it is an honor to share friendship with her. One of the things I learned from her was the difference in how she listens to friends vs her clients, and that is the difference between listening intuitively and listening in a more academic manner. When she listens as a friend she gives away some of her strength, some of herself to help the other individual, in what amounts to taking a bit of that person’s burden. That is part of the sacrifice of a true friendship, based in mutual trust, respect, and love. That kind of sacrifice cannot be asked of a therapist, for they would get too burdend by the cares of their charges. Admittedly, some therapists do make that sacrifice in cases, and it does enact a toll on them.

True care hurts, and that is why true friends are so valuable — they will hurt with you. You can’t buy that from a therapist, no matter how caring, because of the need for that distance they need to keep for their own sanity.

My best to you, as always, Phil.

Nero

I think you’ve too easily blurred the lines between empathy, sympathy, (compassion), and therapy.

Or perhaps it was the therapists themselves that blurred this line…

Just remember this:
Self-Esteem is for Losers!
and
Forget the Lifestyle — get a Life!

Love your humor, you crack me up.