The service Samaritans offer is so amazing. Here is a snippet of what it’s like to be at the other end of the telephone. The link I’ve provided is to the UK organization. They need volunteers.

It’s often challenging. Sometimes it’s desperately sad. Sometimes it’s uplifting. Every now and then it’s very funny. It’s one of the most satisfying things I do, it’s made me a better listener and I’m now a lot more grateful for all the good things in my own life. It’s put me in contact with the most extraordinary range of people and every so often I go home after a shift knowing that someone has been helped at a crucial moment in their life by hearing me say, “Do you want to tell me a bit more about that?

So says a volunteer with the Samaritans in an article in The Guardian article titled, Desperate people are calling the Samaritans and getting an engaged tone. We need your help.

Of course one can make a difference to a persons life by being prepared to listen even when not troubled. We all appreciate being fully heard. And not judged. That too is a Bodhisatva action.