“Myra” had worked for many years in a large downtown business office. Many different things were said about Myra, but on one point all her colleagues agreed: Myra was a hateful person. No one had ever managed to get close enough to her to know her very well. Myra had a way of quickly turning off anyone who tried to befriend her. She was a loner, and a disagreeable one at that. Consequently, whenever a new employee was hired, the warning went out to “stay away from Myra.” This situation prevailed for several years, until a new employee whom we shall call “Margaret” arrived on the scene. Disregarding all the friendly warnings, Margaret made an extra special effort to let Myra know there now was someone in that office who really cared about her. Amazingly, this initial expression of kindness eventually bore fruit: Myra was breaking out of her shell. She was communicating more easily. She began to develop a friendship or two. Then, early…
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