Life Lines

Sometimes the solution to that which plagues us is to state what we need.

How many times do we carry around our worries, think our quiet little thoughts, feel the weight of our world resting on our shoulders and simply carry the burden?

Sometimes we wish others intuitively knew what we needed so help would be offered before we asked. Don't you just love when that happens? I do.

But sometimes? We need to tell others what we need. We don't have to ask, beg or demand. Just state a fact. "This" is how I'm feeling ... leave it open ended. Just say the words. Leave them hanging.

My daycare days taught me a valuable lesson. When I said nothing, it was translated into permission for things to continue the way they had been. I could not expect others to read my mind so I began putting a voice to that which was weighing me down.

For every challenging time in my life, I have garnered my strength to find my way through by finding my "tribe" ... those who simply walk beside me when the going gets tough. They don't have to carry me. I can carry my own weight. But there are times when I simply need to know I can lean in a little.

I have created a vacuum within my life. I often say I garner my energy by having enough solitude to hear myself think. I don't believe I ever say I'm busy but I DO say I have a committed life. I have erected some walls around me which are hard to penetrate.

While inner strength can be found in the solitude, the ability to carry on often comes by knowing you are not in this alone.

The lifelines from the television show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" come to mind.

50:50 - take away two wrong answers, leaving you with a 50/50 chance of choosing the right one
Audience poll - survey the masses to get the popular opinion
Phone-a-friend - possibly my first choice but when the going gets tough, it gets tougher to make that call

Ask for what you need ... you may not get what you ask for but you may feel empowered by knowing you said the words aloud.

Taking my own advise - starting simple and hoping for the best!

P.S. Even our friendly neighborhood rabbits know how to "ask" for what they want. This morning the rabbit food dish I have placed under the fir tree in our front yard was flipped upside down. I do believe that is rabbit speak for "More please?"