Helping You Help Yourself

Here we meet again, my words and your availability.  Today, I want to write about a subject matter that has been written about before.  It has been shared by many and it inspires all of us at one time or another to be who we want to be, someone who does better because they know better.  I was inspired this week by a resource that I shared with those that can hear me http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/go/live-your-life-well/others.  Doing good can make you feel good, it can help you in so many ways, whether it allows you to reflect on how fortunate you really are, or take your mind off the worries that do nothing other than...  Helping others really does help you help yourself.  I often think and reflect on how I have walked through, learned from, and acted upon this.  I know that my drive, and what truly inspires me to give is rooted in the opportunity to help someone else change for the better, feel heard, supported, and ultimately relevant in a world that is not always right or correct.  

Often, helping others doesn't take much more than being available and present.  I know this sounds familiar, and if you've been following our words you recognize that it is spoken about often.  The reason is because we feel it is fundamental and primary to the process of helping others help themselves.  If you are caught up, with your head down and your heart closed, you can not be available to others, let alone to yourself.  It happens on a daily occurrence, and if you know what you are looking for and at,  it is quite easy to recognize. I'm seeing it right now as I write away. You see, when I write I am not in a quite space, behind a desk, or in a closed room by myself.  Quite the opposite, I write at my spots in the middle of a community, immersed into diversity, action, and always an opportunity to observe.  I am a participant observer in every way, and I gain so much from this process and being a part of it, seeing what most walk right by.  Sensing it and seeing it all unfold right before my eyes empowers me, educates me, and truly enhances the skills and abilities one needs in order to be aware and grow.  If you are following me I am showing you that when you understand yourself, can see others for who they are, and what they are going through, helping others is within you.  

Helping others doesn't have to be forced or difficult to achieve.  Often times it is as simple as a smile, a nod of the head, or eye contact that conveys that I got you.  Until we meet again, as always keep that head up, let your heart breathe and help someone out from time to time, you will receive as much as you give!