Courage

I just received an email from a friend of mine. She told me that she's been feeling the same way as me. Said she's thought about going to see someone, but doesn't want to appear weak. I told her that asking for help actually requires a lot of courage. It's often the little things in life that are the most difficult. One wouldn't think that asking for help would be that big of a deal, but pride gets in the way. It's admitting that you can't do it on your own. We all want everyone to think that we are strong and capable. To show weakness is to give someone an opportunity to use it against you. When most often the person who uses it against you is yourself. And you'll do that whether or not you share with others.

My friend, Maura, recently wrote about her friends: Fear, Doubt, and Self Loathing. When we don't ask for help, whether from God or some other human here on earth, we allow these three to take over. These three will lead us down a path into darkness, and just when we have reached the deepest darkest depths of the forest, they will leave us. For while Fear, Doubt and Self Loathing are not truly friends, they come in the guise of friendship. We often feel safe with them, when they first appear. We think, I remember this feeling. I know this. I can handle this. And when we have reached that comfort zone with them, when we have begun to feel that we truly belong with them, that is when we reach the the depths of the forest. And they are gone. And we are left alone, feeling unsafe, unsecure, and unsure of which way to go.

The only way to survive is to ask for help. As we travel down the path with our three so-called friends, we must learn to stop and ask for directions. :) If we stop and get direction along the way then hopefully we will not find ourselves lost in the forest of despair. Unfortunately for most, it is often difficult to find the courage we need to be able to ask for direction. And sometimes it is even more difficult to follow the directions after they are given to us.