“Sometimes the only thing another person needs is for us to believe in them.”
Cleo wade, an American artist, poet, activist, and author
Photograph by Kate Holliday Photography
Sometimes we need to take a moment to realize that in order to be present for someone else you need to truly present in the moment. It is a time when you do not think about yourself because the needs of another are greater and the best thing you can do for them is to be present in all ways that are possible. While the past few weeks have been a detour on my journey, it was an even bigger detour if not complete re-routing of the journey of someone very close to me and that is where I have been – trying to be there for extra support, love, and presence to not only support this special person but also the others around this person who also needed support.
This person’s own journey is still full of struggles that are physical, private, and personal. It is their journey to share. My role is to respect and admire the strength with which they recover. The hardest and most frustrating question for those of us helping a loved one, friend, neighbor or even a stranger is how we fix this for them. It is important to know that we may not be able to fix what happened, but we can be there to encourage them, love them and let them know that we believe in them. That belief as well as our belief in ourselves is sometimes all we ever need.