PEBBLE
People who need help sometimes look a lot like people who don’t need help.
-Glennon Doyle, shared by Emma in Mindoro, WI
BOULDER
Everybody is more fragile than they appear.
Everybody has a hidden wound & a secret scar.
Everybody is carrying something heavy.
Everybody has something they want to escape.
Everybody feels misunderstood.
Everybody wishes they felt seen & known in ways that they still don’t.
Everybody is a child, still—
-a whole planet full of children of all shapes & sizes;
the ones with wrinkles & arthritis
all as small inside as they ever were.
Still a bag of hopes & dreams & insecurity,
looking to love & to be loved.
Tread softly today. There are kids everywhere.
-Jonathan Martin
condensed from a remarkable social media post
PONDER
While trading emails with several people this week in the normal course of being The Ripples Guy, I was struck by just how many of them mentioned dealing with STUFF that is going on in their lives. Some of them were wading through ordinary types of stuff but just a bit more of it than usual. Others were dealing with bigger stuff, and a few of them had their hands and hearts full with the biggest of the big stuff.
It reminded me: We. All. Need. Help.
When it comes to our OWN stuff, we can be hard on ourselves: many of us tend to set exceptionally high standards for our daily output without regard for what is churning in our head and heart.
When it comes for dealing with OTHERS, we can too easily forget what today’s quotes are trying to remind us: lots of people around us are struggling…even the ones who don’t look or act like things are hard right now.
There’s a great Fitz and The Tantrums song called I Need Help! that I often turn to when part of me knows I need a little help while another part of me is stuck in resistance, fear, or despair. It reminds me what I too easily forget:
We. All. Need. Help.
If you’re struggling today, consider this yet another sign that NOW is the time to ask for help: reach out to a friend, get in touch with someone at your workplace employee assistance program, or make an appointment at your campus counseling center. If things are REALLY dire it may be time to call or text 988, the remarkable nationwide suicide and crisis lifeline that has been making a huge difference for people who find the courage to ask for help.
If you’re doing okay right now, do me and the world a favor: keep your eyes and ears open for others who are NOT doing okay right now. Even if it’s just a warm smile and polite nod, that might be just what someone needs to hang on until things get better.
Peace,
Paul
P.S. I’m giving a 30-minute Zoomy Zoom peptalk for my Patreon Peeps and we’re opening this one up for any of our ripply friends who could use a lift:
The Archeology of Passion: Excavating Your Enthusiasm for Work & Life
Wed, Feb 22 at 7pm eastern (6c, 5m, 4p)
Thu, Feb 23 at 3pm eastern (2c, 1m, 12p)
