Ask for Help
This topic ‘Ask for Help’ started with a conversation and may not be quite what you think. The topic was neighbors. I have great neighbors. We are SO different. But we like each other, we respect each other, we help each other and we care for each other… and of coarse these actions extend to our children.
I was talking to a friend who lives in another town, both of us have lived in the same neighborhood for more than a few years. We know neighbors, names, general stuff. But her impression of my relationship with my neighbors differs from that of her relationship with her neighbors. What is the difference?
It is a level of trust, a level of dependability, a level of knowing each other which goes beyond the façade of our front yards. The question is… “well, how did we get here?” [from the Talking Heads].
I asked for help. Each of the neighbors I am close to… I asked for help. Sure it started with an egg or a cup of sugar… well actually that is not true. When I ask for help it is not the usual. One neighbor was “ Can you please watch my kids while I go to the gynecologist?”, Another was “can you help me carry this 200 lb. tv into my house?” [I am a single parent]. How about, “Can we go in on an aerator rental for the front yard?”. And another was “If you see a red car in my front yard will you call the police?” [Creepy date]. What this did was not only help me get the task done… but it also gave them permission to ask me for ‘favors’ [surprisingly they actually do ask for things like eggs and sugar]. But more so what it did was, asking for help, it made me approachable. It made them approachable.
Now we no longer hide behind the façade of our front yards, but we meet in drive ways, talk standing in the street, yell across the block to each other! We invite each other over for a party, we introduce each other to our extended families and in reality we have extended our family circle to include our neighbors, to include each other.
So, ask for help! Why Not? People like to help. It makes us feel important. It makes us feel human. And a great side effect is role modeling for younger generations. My recent lesson to myself is, ask for help! This was the advice I gave to my friend to build a stronger bond with her neighbors. Now I have decided that I am not just going to practice this in my community but also in my career circles. Asking for help is like lighting a beacon. What ever road it leads me down it is sure to be bright!
Rie
DesignsforBodyandMind.com
EmbodyhealthCEU.com
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Designs For Body and Mind, Rie Franklin, FME, RYT500
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