You make your way to the reception desk and a friendly innkeeper says, “Welcome Traveler. Do you require a blanket or a sword?”
It’s not the question you were expecting, and your face betrays your confusion. Fortunately, the innkeeper is extremely perceptive and broadens their question. “Which do you need most right now, Friend? Do you need a blanket – the comfort of a soft chair, a hot meal, and a listening ear, so that you can vent your troubles, or do you require a sword – the solution to a problem?”
On the surface, it’s a simple question, and yet, these two choices – blanket or sword – embody the most important ways we communicate as caregivers.