For many people, including myself, there are times when we are not sure what to do next.  A new situation confronts us, and we have to move left or tack right. Something is headed right for us! What do we do?

Now for me, either because of the way I was brought up or because I am just a very stubborn person asking anyone for help or advice is almost always out of the question because it would reveal to the world, gasp,  “I don’t know everything.”

Okay, I am sure that the world doesn’t care if I know everything or not, so why would it bother me to ask for help?

Recently I have contemplated this mystery because someone recently asked me if they could help me.   My initial reaction was pretty typical. I think, “No, thank you, I am fine.”

Then I stopped to think about it.  I am not perfect, and I don’t have all the answers. Perhaps there is some assistance that I could get from someone else’s insights, experiences, or knowledge.  I then remembered two things.  There are people who I knew were in deep.

trouble and I offered to help them, and they said: “No thanks, I am fine.”

The second thing I remembered was when I was at the lowest point of my life.  I was struggling to make it through each day, and if anyone needed help or encouragement, it was me, and continually I would pretend that everything was fine, I was OK. In reality, I was really in distress and just too proud or stubborn to let anyone know about it or help me navigate through this difficult time.

In retrospect, this was very foolish behavior. I could have had the smartest person in the world at my disposal, and it wouldn’t have mattered because I was intent on keeping my problems to myself—no point in burdening anyone else with my problems.  The result is needless suffering.

Help is not a dirty word.  It doesn’t mean you are weak if you lean on someone else for advice, assistance, or support.

In fact, it shows two things.  First that you are intelligent and

Recognize that you need some information that you don’t have to move forward most efficiently.  Secondly, it gives others a chance to help you.

Most people have great intentions and want to make your life a bit easier by sharing their wisdom.

This doesn’t mean that you have to listen to every person you meet in a coffee shop; rather, I think it means that if you need help, don’t be too proud to ask or too stubborn to accept it when it comes to you.

 That is how the world works best, with all of us working together.

The Little River Band had it right……………