Interesting for me to see this one.
I remember the context in which I wrote it generally--it was a very low time for me in my personal and professional life--but I am not sure the specifics of why I posted it at this particular time.
As I'm reflecting on this, the thing that I'm finding interesting is that I felt like I should broadcast it on social media. Perhaps it was because I was still relatively new to Facebook, and was figuring out how to navigate the new, online part of my social life. Maybe it was out of some sense that the relatively small number of "friends" I had on Facebook at that time would care to see this. Probably there was some sense of exhibitionism behind this post: I know that early on I shared an awful lot more on Facebook than I do now...and this is the kind of cryptic "you should feel sorry for me but I'm not going to tell you why" sort of post we saw a lot of on social media at that point in history. (Okay, some people still post a lot of that kind of thing, I guess...)
Whatever the full story behind this, what I'm thinking about right now is how we all--and I mean ALL of us--need to have people that we can share the good stuff and the bad stuff with. People who are in our corner no matter what. People who love us enough that we can be our own, true selves with. We all need grace on hard days.
And that, my friends, is at the center of my hope for today. The statement I've seen online about this is, “Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.” (A quick Google search attributes this to novelist Brad Meltzer, but I'm not familiar with his work.) But how about this, all?
I'm thinking about friends whose battles I know, and it's easy to lead with kindness there. But how about the folks I encounter throughout the day? Am I ready and able to lead with kindness?
We all need that grace...and especially on the hard days.
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