Showing Support/Lifting Others Up

Ever heard of that expression, “pulling yourself up by the bootstraps?” Well… I am going to be talking about that in this blog post. I do not even know where that saying originated from. I know that some, if not all of us, should pull ourselves up by the bootstraps, but a lot of us need other people to do that for us as well. It does not show weakness or giving up. It shows more than that and that would be having others help us up or in other words having people reach out a helping hand. I do not know how others feel about it, but I appreciate people who support as well as motivate and push me to be better. This brings me to this quote I found by Charles M. Marcus. He says “Surround yourself with people who are going to motivate and inspire you.” I know that I have talked about how we all go through times when we struggle, but the truth is that we, for the most part, have people who help us get through those hard times. Those are the people who help us smile, laugh and wipe away at least some of our tears.

For some of us that might be family members or a really good and best friend. For some of us it could be a counselor or mentor or a significant other. For a lot of us it could be a whole mix of those and for those of us who have that kind of person or multiple people, I say that we are lucky. For some other people, they are not as lucky and I truly feel sorry for those people. For some people, they have that “special” person, but that “special” person may not realize that they are that type of person. That really does not matter. What it matters is how much they support you and become that rock/solid foundation for you, especially when things in life become crazy/unstable. Those are people who help us live life. That is why I try to avoid people who are negative. They only try to bring you down. That brings me into my next quote about being around successful people. “Successful people build each other up. They motivate, inspire, and push each other. Unsuccessful people just hate, blame, and complain.” That is why I try to surround myself with good people/people who are going somewhere. Yeah, you may have some people who may not be going anywhere, but that is because they are temporarily stuck. Know the difference between those people and those people who never want to get unstuck or out of that situation.

I just want to thank those people in my life as well as those people who play a significant part in other people’s lives because we would not be where we are without them there supporting us every step of the way. No matter what life throws our way, we hang onto people and as unexpected as they may be, they are still there. This brings me to a quote I have come to appreciate and love a lot more. “There will be storms, child, there will be storms. And with each tempest, you will seem to stand alone against cruel winds; but with time, the rage and fury shall subside. And when the sky clears, you will find yourself clinging to someone, you would have never known, but for storms.” In other words, sometimes storms bring us those kinds of people who end up meaning the world to us. All we can do is to hold onto those people tight. Since this post is a topic I have a strong interest in, I am including at least a couple of pieces here.

Helping Hand

Reach your hand out and I will pull you up
By the bootstraps. When think that your cup
Is half way empty, I will fill it back to the top.
When your life is coming to a dead stop
And red light, it is turning green again.
When you are tired because the rain
And storm keeps coming, just pause for
A moment so I can catch up when the door
Closes. You do not need to thank me because
In all those times when I could not get my jaws
To work to form words or good thoughts
You were there to untangle the knots
And have everything running smoothly
Again. Darling, you are always going to truly
Be my guardian angel when I am your rock.
I know that you are not the one to mock
My insecurities because you have some of
Your own. It when you showed me what love
Really was, being there for someone else and
Being there for yourself too no matter if the sand
Tries to sink you down with it. I always made
That promise to uplift you when you felt weighed
Down. I promised to show support and grace
Even when you did not deserve it. Your face
Is the one I picture seeing for the rest of our days,
Forever. I will walk with you through the maze.

When Life Is a Storm

Life was beginning to blow over and was falling apart.
It is when some higher power was leading me right to
You in the middle of it all. The darkness in your heart
Was outweighed heavily by the storm around you.

You did not want to let anybody in because of all that
You were going through, but I was continuously
Changing your mind. You wanted to give up and flat
Line, but I got you back to living. I got you seriously
Thinking about life again. Darling, it is not always about
The clouds and the storms, but how we get through them
Even on a good day. It was during every single blowout
When you held onto me. I was your constant steady drum.

It was the laugh, the smile, and kind words that you said
Saved you. It was during the rain that you said I was
Your rock. I was your breath of fresh air when you bled
Out all over the floor right below us. It was because
Of the times when life’s storm threw you hard
That I got to truly know you and you became my lucky card.