Photo by Maeby
Your inner state is what matters. The circumstances will pass. Be filled with an attitude of gratitude. -Mary Morrissey
A big part of my daily routine that I absolutely love and anticipate is taking my pups for a morning walk. We–meaning Victor, the 10-pound chihuahua with an attitude, and Biscuit, the 50-pound, happy-go-lucky mutt and I–walk downtown and back nearly every day either on nice, wide sidewalks or the relatively new greenway. It’s a blessing to have two safe options. Either way, it’s a round-trip distance of about three miles.
Usually we’re accompanied by my daughter and her beagle, Peanut, and our conversation fills up the time, but they didn’t go yesterday. The little bit of “morning rush hour” traffic that there is in Hopkinsville had already died down by the time the pups and I started out shortly after 8 a.m. I had my phone and could have listened to a podcast or tunes, but I chose to walk in the relative silence. Something I’m working towards improving is ‘paying attention.’ Or mindfulness. Or awareness. Or being present. Whatever it is, it’s a rather ambitious undertaking for someone who has always had ADHD.
For some reason along the way, the lyrics to the Beatles’ song, Help! leaped into my head. It was so pronounced, almost startling. I hadn’t been thinking about the Beatles, or really anything in particular. So for the lyrics to jump right out at me whilst walking along Main Street was more than just a little noticeable. As a recovering alcoholic, the simplicity of the words that were delicately woven into an utter cry for help hit me hard. I could so relate.
The seeming randomness of this doesn’t surprise me. After all, the Universe naturally supports our efforts, whether they’re noble or not, whether they’re voiced or not. And when I gave it some thought, I realized that helping others really had been a predominant theme in my life for the past few weeks.
What’s really amazing and almost unbelievable are the number of quality, supportive resources that have begun to flow my way lately in the form of long phone conversations and uplifting emails from friends, as well as videos, e-books, and webinars–mostly free with the only costs being time and commitment. It’s as though all kinds of Help! are flowing my way at just the right time.
As good as helping and giving to others makes me feel, I need to remember the importance of being able to recognize when my self needs help, and then asking for it. We “givers” have a tendency to give to others with generous abandon–not realizing that our own self needs nourishment from time to time. I am forever grateful for this wake-up call. Has reading this been one for you?