I feel like I’ve recently become an expert in deciphering sighs. I’ve seen a lot of them lately.
Varying sighs can have many different meanings.
There’s the sigh of exasperation. You can tell when a person has had enough and is teetering on the edge. Without saying it, the person is saying, “Are you Kidding me!?!”
There’s the sigh of resigned acceptance. You’ll see this one when someone is too tired to continue pushing. Their sigh will tell you all you need to know about how they feel. It might often be followed by a single word like “fine” or “whatever.”
The sigh of contentment might often come at the end of a long day of hard work. It says “I’ve done everything that I can possibly do. I’m OK with the effort that I’ve put in today.”
The non-believer sigh demonstrates an air of bewilderment. You know that the person is speaking only in their head, “I can’t believe this is happening right now.” They may also be silently looking for help, “This isn’t possible, is it?!”
My favorite of all, though, is the comfort sigh. When you see this sigh, you know that the person is reassured in what they are doing. They feel a sense of relief that what they are doing is working, or in some way helping.
I hope that I see more comfort and contentment sighs moving forward.
Keep sighing everyone!
Rich