Ask for Help
We’re a culture of self-help. There are entire sections in bookstores devoted to the topic. Expressions such as “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” are part of our lexicon. Traits like self-sufficiency, independence and autonomy are considered desirable. But while they are very helpful and valuable qualities, everyone needs help sometimes.
Be that as it may, to the American mindset it seems as though there are an abundance of impediments to actually seeking it out. Needing help doesn’t mean you’re weak. There’s really no way you can do and handle everything yourself. Although intellectually you may understand that fact, personally realizing and admitting it can be a challenge for many of us. Accepting assistance can be equally difficult. This may be because of a self-perception as someone who gives, not someone who receives. For others, independence is so ingrained that we don’t even consider requesting support. Or even if we do, we imagine that others are too busy to help or we suppose that we’ll be too much of a burden.
When we’re ready to not only admit we require help, but also solicit it, how do we go about getting what we need? Sure, for a headache it’s easy to pop a pill. For overload at work, approaching your boss makes sense. If you’ve got a broken arm, well, you go to the emergency room. But you can’t turn to your best friend for every little problem you encounter in your daily life. Still, you’d really appreciate knowing that some support is out there and that you don’t have to do it all solo. There is and you don’t. When you need help all you have to do is ask for it. Call it by whatever name you most feel comfortable with: commune with nature, talk to your ancestors, pray to God or make offerings to the Universe. What you name it (if anything) isn’t important. Just doing it is.
You don’t always have to actively entreat. Sometimes you can be more passive. Your body will assist you in taking care of it if you just slow down and listen to it. If you’ve unsuccessfully attempted meditation in the past, take some of the pressure off yourself. There are plenty of quiet in-between moments you can use to check-in. Opportunities exist while waiting at a red light, being on hold on the telephone, standing on line at the grocery store or even during television commercials. You don’t have to close your eyes (although it helps), say something or do anything in particular other than listen. It’s quite amazing what you can learn when you give all of your attention to yourself even if it’s just for a minute or two at a time.
By enlisting techniques such as prayer and meditation, you remove the fear that motivates the question of whom you can trust to help. The wisdom that is available within is boundless. When you look externally, there is always the issue of filtered communication, but internally, anything you receive is specific to you.
In addition to the specificity and wisdom of the information is its accessibility. You can request assistance anytime, anywhere and for any reason. While you might think about talking to the angels regarding your mother’s poor health, don’t forget about your chronic back pain. Perhaps you won’t receive an instant miracle healing, but you might begin to think about an unhealed past trauma which triggers an emotional release. Afterwards, you may notice an improvement.
Because of the law of free will, we really can’t receive aid from the divine without requesting it. Once we do seek support, it comes. Trust that the supply of help that is within reach is infinite and you’ll experience it all around you. What could be better during these times of uncertainty?
