The older I get, the more convinced I am that we all need help from one another. But sooner or later it happens: You think you can do anything and everything on your own and that you do not need anyone and then boooom- you cannot and you need to reach out for help . . . if you are smart!
Has it ever happened to you that you have been erased from someone’s life and then suddenly they call you needing something, with their tail between their legs? Kids are great for that. They think they do not need you and they write you off. But a moment arrives when it is inevitable that they need you in some way again, maybe it is monetarily, maybe it is for your emotional support and presence.
When I refer to needing help, it is not always tangible help. It could also be a smile or a hug that is needed. Have you ever run into a friend or relative that spontaneously gives you a wonderful smile or an affectionate hug and you feel so much better? You did not even realize that you needed that!
I often talk about arrogance, a very subtle attitude that anyone, including myself, can take on. If you think you have not been a victim of this attitude, I have news for you, you have!!! There is nothing worse than pushing others away, discounting them, de-valuing them and then NEEDING THEM! It happens, doesn’t it? Maybe it is God playing with us and our humility?
I have an everyday ritual when I go to work. Regardless whether I have coffee at home not, I absolutely must stop by Starbucks and get ANOTHER coffee. One day in the middle of the winter, I stopped by Starbucks. It had been snowing and it was a bitterly morning. As I parked my car I caught a glimpse of a homeless person sitting outside on the street but I kept on my mission of getting my coffee. I did not stop to help him. As I got out of my fancy car with my fancy coat and my fancy shoes, I stepped directly on black ice. I slipped with no chance of catching myself and I fell, full body, to the ground. I looked like a Tom & Jerry cartoon flailing to the ground. As I was lying on the floor, guess who came and gave me a hand to get up? Why yes, the homeless guy. My ego, dressed in all my arrogance was shattered in that moment. It always surprises me how in a split second we can think and feel so many things than in an hour of yoga!
This happened years ago but I still remember my arrogance and the sweet help of the homeless person.
You would think that after going through such a globally challenging situation (such as the pandemic), we would all have more awareness for our need to work together, help one another out, be present with each other. But the habit of arrogance is a hard habit to beat. The definition of arrogance is exaggerating one’s own worth or importance often by an overbearing manner. Now it is easy to confuse confidence with arrogance. According to the dictionary the definition of confidence is the feeling or belief that one can rely on someone or something; firm trust.
We live in an esoteric town. You know we can be a little bit woo woo and talk about Karma and energy and vibes. I like that. I choose to believe that Karma will determine what comes to us according to what we put out. The phrase “treat others as you would want to be treated” is very profound. It is in all religious beliefs and honestly, I like to let that guide my actions. It is a lifestyle.
Enough of this philosophy. I must get back to work!