“Good days aren’t promised and neither are the tough. With a hand to hold the tough are bearable and that’s all we wish for.”
There is a overlooked attribute and feature that has played out in individual development since the beginning of humanity. Support. Starting from the greatest, wealthiest, most influential people among others, they all have benefited from the guidance and support of another. This is a clear indication and pointer on how our humanity plays out. We are social beings which means we socialize and relate with others. By socializing, we get to express our emotions, thoughts, ideas and aspirations. Luckily, we get people who relate with this and become part of our story moving forward. The hope is to find more of these people so that we have meaningful journeys through life with our stories intertwined with each others’.
I resolved to read the compilation by Lizz Ntonjira, #YouthCan, this week with a goal of establishing a common thread that made the people get to the levels where they are and not only that but what fuels their journeys. It is an interesting turn that by Dr. Githinji extending a hand I was lucky to be a beneficiary of the giveaway which now weaves the thread of support as I have realized. All the individuals changing the African narrative featured in the book were lucky to benefit from kindness and support of another ranging from siblings, parents, relatives, teachers, employers, colleagues, school mates among others. It’s through such lucky coincidences that people get the push to take a leap of faith, get to hope for a better future and commit to make it happen. It’s such a marvelous ripple of positivity and if we could adopt it then more people would be able to drive meaningful change in their communities.
As a follow up to this, today happened to be World Mental Health Day 2020 and the call is for greater investment and greater access to mental healthcare services. Such a powerful message but before we focus on government investment we need to look within and ask ourselves whether we are investing enough in our mental health. Do you invest in your wellness enough even through time offs to refresh and get better before going back into work? If you don’t however much the government does, it wont be enough. Beyond individual investment we need to invest as a community and in this sense I mean, our social responsibility needs to be evoked. If you can help another, you’ll have made the world better and you have the ability to. Help is not in material sense but by being there to listen with openness and empathy, acting with kindness not to hurt others and guiding where and when you can for a self-sustaining society we will have achieved more than we can imagine. Can you do this?
“All we need is a hand to hold, a pair of ears to listen and a heart that understands. Beyond these our hopes and aspirations have a chance to manifest.”