Why Not to Give Advice

What I told her was probably true, but it was no help.  So why did I tell it?  Maybe I believed that knowing why she felt badly could make her feel better.  Maybe I wanted her to know that I knew, or thought I did, how hard it could be being alone.  Maybe I was disguising my distress in hers, hoping one of us might then be free.  Whatever the reason, it was not a good enough one.  I hadn't so many friends that I could send the good ones away.