Just How Strong is this Four-Letter Word?
It's not just a Beatles' song. It's not just a desperate refrain. It's not something shouted in anger, although extreme frustration may make us blurt it out. Just what is this four-letter word, and why is it so strong? Consider the following quote by an unknown author:
A little boy was having difficulty lifting a heavy stone.
His father came along just then.
Noting the boy's failure, he asked, "Are you using all your strength?"
"Yes, I am," the little boy said impatiently.
"No, you are not," the father answered.
"I am right here just waiting, and you haven't asked me to help you."
Does any of this resonate for you?
- Do you often struggle on alone, convinced that whatever you're trying to accomplish somehow "won't count" if you ask for help? Where is that written - and accounted for?
- Do you feel the need to reinvent the wheel, when wheels of so many astonishingly different and creative styles are available if you just ask for help? What if we re-used an existing wheel? Or adapted one to our own taste?
- Do you feel great helping others, but hesitate - or hate - to ask for help yourself? Would it be easier to ask if you knew you were giving others the gift of feeling great because they're able to help you?
Help is one of the strongest four-letter words in the English language. Strong enough for the heavy lifting sometimes required on both sides of the equation - from the requester as well as the giver.
Asking for help can require great courage: to overcome a feeling of inadequacy, or bad connotations from childhood authority figures, or recent bad experiences with those for whom help is a dirty word.
Giving help can also require great courage: to give wholeheartedly with no expectation of return, or when the giving stretches us to our limits, or when trying to give only what the requester asks and not what we think he or she should want.
Help - both the giving and the receiving - is such a strong four-letter word because the very act requires us to grow, to learn, to be bigger and better than we were before. Help is an essential human trait.
Who have you asked for help lately? Who have you helped lately? Be strong - spread the word!
Just How Strong is this Four-Letter Word?
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