Did you know...(I'm scared to post this)

HOW do you react when you see somebody else in pain? Most of us can empathize with someone who has been injured or is sick – we can quite easily put ourselves “in their shoes” and understand, to some extent, what they are feeling. 

Why is it that we can empathize better with someone that has physical PROOF that they are hurting? This really got me thinking this morning. Let me tell you a story.

Yesterday, after my son was finished with his track meet, I noticed he was limping. I asked him if his feet were hurting, because apparently, track shoes aren't super cozy, and these athletes feet become sore. He told me that his feet were fine, but his hip was hurting. Then he proceeded to tell me that during pack hour (aka, lunch) he was playing basketball and took a hard foul, falling and landing on his hip bone. I took a took at it, and there's no bump, no bruise, no sign of anything "wrong" and yet, guys...he's REALLY hurting. Every time he sat, stood from sitting, adjusted in his chair, went up the stairs, went down the stairs, bent over to pull his socks on- you get the point, he kind of went, "Eeeaiiiiooow" (not to be confused with e-i-e-i-o, and now you have the Old MacDonald song stuck in your head.) I KNOW he is hurting. Had I just assumed that his feet were hurting, and not ASKED him about the limp, I would almost bet he'd have never told me about the fall and the injury to his hip. And I'd never know, because there's no physical indication that he was hurting.  

Let me shoot straight from the hip, pun intended. This is people. The human race. EVERY SINGLE PERSON is going through "stuff" and guess what? WE CAN'T SEE IT! And sadly, if there is no evidence of pain, we assume all is well and good.

Did you know, that sometimes my chest feels so tight, I feel like breathing is even hard to do? Did you know that sometimes I close the blinds to my house, lock the doors, and hide in my basement because it's just too people-y in the world for me some days? Did you know that sometimes I won't answer my phone, because I know when I say, "hello," the person on the other end is most likely going to say, "Hi. How are you?" and I don't want to lie by saying, "I'm good." Did you know that I feel nervous walking into church, or a grocery store, or even walking to check the mail (which is really the reason I usually drive to the mailbox.) Did you know that I refuse to go through a drive thru because I can't see who I'm talking to, and can't read their body language?

I'm often referred to as "fun, and outgoing." I like people. I really do, and I try my hardest to be friendly to everyone I come in contact with. But did you know, that sometimes, the smile on my face is a costume? 

News flash. None of us REALLY have ALL of our shit together. There. I said it. And...that's ok! It's really what makes us human.  And you might not see the physical pain, hurt, anxiety, "STUFF" on the outside that every single one of us goes through at some point in our lives, but we all have "stuff." 

I sometimes think how nice it would be if there were some sort of way we could tell what "hurt" people were facing. Not to be Nosey Mcnoserson or anything, but I feel that we would all show a little more compassion towards others if we KNEW their struggles. I know for a FACT, that if I see an elderly man or woman walking slow, I'm much more patient as I follow them down a crowded grocery aisle, rather than if I am following a younger person, meandering through the aisles with their carefree attitude. I'm just...less bugged, because I can see the physical reason that this older person would be moving more slowly. If every anxious person had a red stripe in their hair, and every person facing bullying challenges had a purple stripe in their hair, and every person dealing with a family crisis had a blue stripe in their hair, and every person that is having a hard time in school, or work, or WHATEVER, had a yellow stripe in their hair, that would JUST.BE.EASIER! 

Life wasn't meant to be easy. George Bernard Shaw said it best. "Life is not meant to be easy, my child; but take courage: it can be delightful." And it can be. 

If you have made it this far, maybe you'll take this challenge I leave with you. Help someone that might be a little less fortunate than you. And this has nothing to do with wealth. Some people are richly blessed with hardly any troubles or trials and have it all figured out. Others are not. And we can't see it, so...just show compassion, and understanding and love. And if you just can't do that today, well then...hide in your basement and try again tomorrow. 

Ellen DeGeneres says it the very very very best! "Be kind to one another."

I love you!
Ang