Being weak so that others may be strong

You may have read in yesterday’s blog that we suffered a grievous bereavement.  An event like this knocks everyone concerned for a six.  The thing that I had not realised, was how wide those ripples spread.  I have heard from neighbours, friends, friend’s children how this has affected them.. just how much they saw and valued her unique gift. 

I was brought up to be  strong and self-sufficient, and as the eldest of four, to be very responsible for others.  It felt odd to accept these offers of help.  I had to accept that it was okay to say “Yes… some help would be most welcome.”  As I let others step up to the plate, it slowly dawned on me that I had to create the space to allow them to show this side of themselves.  I witnessed each of my wonderful children, each in turn, break down, and then on seeing the other’s grief, to comfort them.  In allowing themselves to be comforted they enabled the other to touch their own strength.

Good bosses have always known that giving someone a challenge and truly allowing them step-up to that challenge creates the space for them to grow.  Gardeners do the same thing when they plant out seedlings, they give them space to grow.

I’m sure one of the fruits of this terrible event is that I know that the other people I love will be stronger and so will their love for each other.

“The more you care, the stronger you can be.”   John Rohn

Tags: Carys

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 10th, 2010 at 23:00 and is filed under Personal Blog, Personal Change. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.