Today I am breaking one of my cardinal rules – DON’T MENTION CLIENTS… as a colonic therapist I’m supposed to say “patients” – but I struggle with this … sounds a bit pompous to me – as if I’m pretending be a nurse and a doctor…
Anyway … I always make a point of have an “unsubscribe button” on anything I send out “en masse”… and so, from time to time, I get e-mails to nothanksemily10@gmail.com and I know that this person no longer wants to receive e-mails from me. I believe in choice and freedom so I can only applaud when people choose – but every now and again I have a slight emotional response. Mostly this just means that I am having a bad day and feeling a bit insecure, and having someone “unsubscribe” just feeds into my thinking at that point. But yesterday it was different.
I received an unsubscribe request from the only person I have ever treated who I managed to antagonise so much within the first 15 minutes of our consultation that I had fantasies that she was going to knife me…
The fury, the icy tones in her voice, the way she looked at me – I just wanted to run… there were two complications to this 1) she had prepaid – and taken weeks to finally come for an appointment; 2) she was booked in for a colonic followed by a Thai massage – A FOUR AND A HALF HOUR APPOINTMENT …
This had never happened before … I was used to people relaxing, a rapport being established, humour, tenderness, trust, confiding … instead I had goose bumps all over, my heart racing – and a woman who appeared to loathe me on my sofa…
There’s no dramatic unfolding – no “Ta da!!! moment” – I was just very brave, and I agreed to treat her on the grounds that I didn’t ask her any more questions…
But by the end of the four and a half hours she gave me a kiss and a hug good bye … and we had several more very enjoyable sessions over the next few weeks … always rounded off with a kiss and a hug…
And now it appears that our association has been further rounded off by an empty e-mail sent to nothanksemily10@gmail.com…
So how does this fit with “having the best time”? I suppose it boils down to honesty. By having that reaction to me she was probably the most ruthlessly honest client I have ever had … and by unsubscribing she has been honest with me again. I like honesty. It is not always comfortable – but the opposite is hideous…
And honesty, I believe, leads to freedom – I am pro-freedom. And freedom – in my world – is the ultimate “best time” 🙂
