Back story: Two people very close to me criticized me harshly, telling me I was “goofy” and “attention-grabbing” and basically not the type of person they thought I should be. Heartbroken, I “dumped” on an old girlfriend, who has long since moved on and gotten married to someone who thinks she is “more than enough”. This is what her “exactly what I needed to hear” response to me was:
“That is a lie. Your “goofiness” and “attention needing” (or just a person who does get attention because you are fun!) are those incredible, unique qualities of who you are as a person. And you give. And give. You are moving forward at your own perfect pace in your own perfect timing.”
It prompted this haiku:
It amazed him that,/
after all the years which passed,/
she knew what to say.
Cyrano Writer: Musings of a Revolutionary Romantic Poet 