Asking for Help

A new page to my story was written last night. This is the page that begins a lesson on helplessness vs asking for help. This has been a challenge for me my entire life. It all started in a white anglo saxon community that lives out the theory of self made men who pull themselves up by their boot straps (which are something I still have yet to see). I grew up in a household where everyone pulled their own weight. There was no whining or crying. You just did it. Then I married a man who defined himself by what he could do to take care of other people. Not a good match I guess. During the bad years I would constantly balance my decision to stay or go based on whether I was willing to do whatever it was on my own. Was I willing to spend Saturday nights alone? Was I willing to travel alone? Could I make it financially alone? I never thought about who I might ask for help. I was either going to be married or alone. Asking for help was in my mind a sign that I wasn't able to do it on my own. Enter D and P into my life. There has never been a better couple to teach me the lessons of life. They continually show me how to negotiate a partnership where both parties win. They have taught me the importance of opening up my life and letting someone else in, really in. So at the end of a very long day I found myself a few miles away from my car. I could easily have walked the distance and would have if I had been alone and it hadn't been dark. But I gave them a call and boldly asked for help. This I did despite the fact that they were in the middle of a family Christmas celebration. The lesson went from just having the ability to ask for help to realizing what wonderful things can happen when you do. Not only did they take me to my car but they invited us to come have dinner and join in the family celebration. And once again, for some reason I was able to say yes. These are the moments when I know the universe is in charge because the me that I am would never accept that invitation. That would be an imposition, an interference. It ended up being a wonderful end to my day and such a blessing to witness family love at its finest. The lesson learned is not just about the importance of asking for help and that people really do want to be a part of my life. It is also that invitations are just that. It is not for me to judge or evaluate them. I am being invited to join with other people; to be in relationship with others. I become better, fuller, more complete by sharing my life with others.