“It’s better to light a candle than curse the darkness.” ~ Chinese Proverb

Last week, you may have noticed, I was unable to produce a Words of Wisdom post.  I was going through trials of my own.  The obstacles before me were so large and unyielding that I lost my footing and slid down, away from my familiar, mostly comfortable, path.  I found myself in unfamiliar territory, holding on to broken branches, grasping at tall grass.  Occasionally, glimmers of light descended, making me forget where I was and what was to come.  By the end of the week, I was weak, again in darkness, confused about my surroundings, and not knowing how to reach back up.  I asked for help.  I asked for guidance.  How can I help others, I thought, if I can’t even help myself?  I wrote: I feel sad, numb, insignificant.  I decided to let it be, to not struggle, to let time create a clearing that would show me a way back up to my familiar, mostly comfortable, path.

I returned empty-handed, no words of wisdom to offer.

I repeated my predicament to a student:  How can I help others, if I can’t even help myself?  She wisely responded:  Why don’t you write about that?

All of us have been there at one time or another.  We’ve been tousled off our path so far that it took all our focus and energy to scramble back to where we could recognize ourselves.  In those times, we are the ones searching for answers, we are the ones in need of some simple words of wisdom, we are the ones needing a hand up or a shoulder to cry on.  And that’s ok.  We’re all in this together.  We’re here to help each other, to grow, to learn, and be stronger for it.

Sometimes, reaching down to help someone else, someone who has fallen further, is the best way to light your way, to clear the haze.  Start by lighting just one candle.

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