Are you feeling sad, lonely, lost, confused? Are you afraid, overwhelmed, stuck, angry? Having trouble getting a handle on these and moving forward?
The best method for overcoming these feelings and un-sticking yourself is to reach out a helping hand.
Yesterday we read a few poems about how easy and simple it is to reach out to others. Of course, it’s wonderful to do big things such as working to end hunger or to bring about world peace, but we might find ourselves in a life situation where we can’t commit to those worthy projects. They may be too much for us right now.
The good news is there are many ways to lend a helping hand and we read about a few of them in yesterday’s poems. As the poems mentioned, small things we can easily do are smiling at others; saying hello to people you see; giving a kind word to loved ones, friends, and strangers.
Here are a few other things that can easily be done:
Acknowledging Others
When you are interacting with people look them in the eye, take the time to see them, to listen to them. We’re so rushed and harried in our own lives that we don’t take the time to really notice others. Your attention is the precious gift that lets them know someone has noticed that they exist.
Giving Others the Benefit of the Doubt
Sometimes it’s all too easy to judge others and attribute bad motivations to the things they do, especially if they inconvenience or hurt you. If you pause a moment, you’ll see that the other person is doing the best they can and probably had no intention of hurting you. Oftentimes you’ll find that they’re so focused on living their life to the best of their ability that they don’t even realize they’ve done something that may have harmed you.
Have a Pleasant Look on Your Face
So often we’re wrapped up in thinking about all we have to do and where we have to go and who we have to see, and we don’t realize this is all reflected on our face. Look around you at people’s faces. Some look glum, others look stern, a few will look sad or lost, and some have faces that are closed down—they’ve lost hope. There aren’t many people who have a pleasant look on their face! A pleasant look doesn’t necessarily mean smiling. It’s a slight, gentle upturn of the corners of the mouth, eyes bright with life, and a face that’s open to the small delights around them.
You may be saying that none of these small acts are going to make a difference to anyone. Well, you just don’t know. It might not be the person you’re directly interacting with who is profoundly touched by you. It can be someone in another line at the grocery store who overhears your kind word to the harried cashier, for instance. Or it can be a co-worker overhearing you giving a kinder and gentler interpretation of the boss’ actions when everyone else is gossiping and bashing her/him. Hearing you, seeing you, may be just the little thing that was needed to turn the tide for that person. It could be just the thing to help them know that there is hope, there is goodness, and that they should hang on.
You just never know.
Try out a few of these suggestions—the ones from the poems as well as the ones we talked about here.
Let me know how reaching out a helping hand to others has helped you even more. Also feel free to share other easy, simple ways that you like to reach out a helping hand to others. Thanks!
Please pass this post along to a friend, loved one, neighbor, co-worker, or stranger. Thanks!
Your Friend and Pep Pal,
Lauren
Yes I Can Pep Talks 
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