We are not Alone

While it is never fun to have to handle unpleasant situations, it is always better to deal with difficulties as they arise rather than hiding from them. If we avoid whatever is making us uncomfortable, and put off managing the problem, all we are doing is compounding it and making everything that much more challenging.

If there is something we feel we cannot take care of alone, it is okay to ask for help. Someone will be able to point us in the right direction or offer guidance. However, many times, while we may wish for help, when it arrives, we are reluctant to accept it and push it away, or we fail to recognize it as help. We need to be willing to say yes to the aid that we seek by gracefully accepting the help that people offer to us, even if it doesn’t always come in the form we are expecting.

If we step back and remember that we are not alone, then it will be possible for us to be more open to people who can give us a different perspective, offer an answer to something that we need to know, or lend support when we need it, making it somewhat easier for us to handle the difficulties that life throws our way.

Gracious acceptance is an art – an art which most never bother to cultivate. We think that we have to learn how to give, but we forget about accepting things, which can be much harder than giving.

Alexander McCall Smith