Help – I need somebody!

“It takes a whole village to raise a child.” ~ African Proverb

The first time I heard this quote, I thought, “Of course!  A child needs all kinds of teachers and mentors to become their best self.”

What I didn’t understand is that parents, for their own sanity, need the help of the village in order to be the best parents they can be.  Now I’m god mom to two very special short people, and I know that I am part of the fabric that helps hold both their mom and dad together.

A few years ago, I had Kurt as my healer, Sara as my life coach, a therapist, an acting coach, and a voice teacher.  A friend looked at me and said, “My God – you have an entire committee working on you!”

It was true… I was looking to make big changes as efficiently as possible, and I gathered a team to help me make it happen.

We all need assistance in order to be our best selves… people to support us, to challenge us, to call us on our stuff, to laugh and cry with, to think out loud with, to simply be with…

When you think about your day-to-day existence, the joys and the trials, who’s on your committee?

Who helps you be you?

Are there areas of your life where you don’t have a go-to person?  Are there people you’re close to who can fill the void – or do you need to cultivate some new relationships?  Or find a professional who can satisfy the need?

(uhhh… preferably LEGAL professionals, if you know what I mean….giggle ;))

And then there’s the flip side – whose committee are you on?  What role do you fill?  Does it work for you?

We all need community – it makes the world a better place; it makes our lives richer and more meaningful… it makes us better people.

“You have been my friend. That in itself is a tremendous thing. I wove my webs for you because I liked you. After all, what’s a life, anyway? We’re born; we live a little while; we die. A spider’s life can’t help being something of a mess, with all this trapping and eating flies. By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone’s life can stand a little of that.” ~ Charlotte, from Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White