So many times, sitting in my office, I am overwhelmed by the fact that my clients feel so alone in what they are struggling with, that they feel that they are the only ones experiencing this anxiety or sadness or thinking things that they just can’t say out loud. But they aren’t alone - and neither are you.
There’s so much that we think, but we don’t or just can’t say it out loud. We don’t express the anger we feel towards someone who just died because it’s not “nice”. We don’t speak about our struggle with sexual anxiety or insecurities because we don’t want people to think we’re gross or weird.
Imagine if our thoughts lived in glass houses. If we could see what everyone was thinking. It would be total sensory overload, but I’m pretty sure we would see that we are more alike than we ever realized.
Just think about it, if we were more transparent we would understand that we are all in this together, in the same boat, that we all face the same internal struggles, the same heartache. I think we could all use a whole lot more of this kind of transparency.
To be completely transparent, I’m in this messy boat along with you, sitting starboard bow (that’s the front row on the right). This is my life too. The journey that God has sent me (us) on is messy and wild, full of laughter and tears - but all of it has purpose. I know for certain my boat will toss and turn and that the journey won’t be as smooth and predictable as I want it to be. I accept that, and I’m inviting you to hop in this boat with me, to ride the waves together and see where life takes us.
Half the time, what people honestly need to hear is your struggle, to know that we all struggle with the same things. It is our similar struggles that connect us, that build us up.
Work to be more transparent today… to name your struggle, actually say it out loud. Then watch out… because those with similar struggles will come out of the woodwork!
