You are not alone

You are not alone.

Every week you all gift me a space to speak to you.

And I’d like to take a moment right now to thank you for that opportunity.

I don’t take lightly, the number of you who are out there, reading my words. Your time is precious and if you are right now reading these words, you are gifting me with your time and attention.

And so, with appreciation for your time, I have one message that I want to share with you:

You are not alone.

I don’t know what’s going on in your world right now. While the holidays bring joy to many people, they bring sorrow and difficulty to many more. Perhaps you have had a recent loss, and this is your first holiday without a loved one. Perhaps the holidays have only represented a time of stress, based on experiences growing up.

It’s possible that, irrelevant of the holidays, you have a tough time this time of year because of the short dates and long nights. Maybe you are mired in a difficult work or relationship situation that is weighing you down with stress and hopelessness.

Maybe you feel hopeless for reasons for which you have no words. Maybe life is hard and that’s all that you know. That life is hard.

Maybe you are struggling with addiction or anxiety.

I don’t know.

But what I’ve learned in recent weeks is that there are still so many people out there that assume that they alone bear the burden. They alone are miserable in a marriage, in their head, in their job, in their anxiety, in their depression….

I try to write about my anxiety and depression if for no other reason than to wave a flag of solidarity that says, me too. Because not enough of us do it.

So my message today is straight forward - regardless of your struggle and you, you alone are the only one who can name that struggle, you are not alone.

You. Are. Not. Alone.

Make no mistake about it, it takes courage to own your struggle. Make no mistake about it, it takes courage to own what is yours.

But, as you read these words, if you think that it is only you who feels however you feel then I need you and I need you desperately to know this -

You are not alone.

But that’s not to say that you can sit back and wait. You will have to put your foot forward. You will have to find it in yourself to reach out. But I want you to know that if you reach out, you WILL find someone on the other end.

Please, please, please - if you know nothing else on this day - I need you to know this:

You are not alone.