His adult daughter is hurting. “How is she?” I asked.
“Truth is, I don‘t know,” he replied.
“Yes, of course,” I said. “Better question. How are you?”
“I’m…okay,” he said. “But I want to be good! I’m going to be good.”
Since when have we needed to be emotional super-heroes? Since when has being human not been enough?
Truth is, when someone we love is hurting, our every human instinct is to assist. To fix. To rescue. To do anything and everything we can to change the situation. It is normal. It is human. It is our loving response. Especially when our children are involved.
And when we can’t, it is human to feel helpless, frightened, frustrated, angry, sad.
Truth is, in some circumstances, being ‘not okay’ can be appropriate, and being ‘okay’ is more than enough.
Breathe. Be gentle. Be kind. Start with yourself.
I believe in you.
Jasmine
