That which cometh from the heart goes to the heart．－Jeremiah Burroughs
I was working as a consultant(someone whose job is to give advice on a particular subject)in a beer company, helping the president and senior vice-presidents formulate(develop something)and implement(take action)their new strategic vision．It was a big 1 ．
At the same time, my mother was in the final stages of cancer．
I worked during the day and drove 40 miles home to be with her every night．It was 2 and stressful, but it was 3 I wanted to do．My promise was to continue to do excellent consulting during the day, 4 my evenings were very hard．I didn’t want to 5 the president with my situation, yet I felt someone at the company needed to know what was 6 on．So I told the vice-president of Human Resources, asking him not to share the information 7 anyone．
A few days 8 , the president called me into his office．I 9 he wanted to talk to me about one of the many issues we were 10 ．When I entered, he asked me to 11 ．He faced me from across his large desk, 12 me in the eye and said, “I hear your mother is very ill．”
I was 13 caught by surprise and burst into 14 He just looked at me, let my crying die down, and then 15 said a sentence I will never forget：“ 16 you need．”
That was it．His 17 and his willingness to both let me be in my pain 18 to offer me everything were 19 of compassion(同情)that I carry with me 20 this day．