I once admitted to my mom that I felt alone. We were between international moves, I was 6 months pregnant with my 3rd child, I’d left a job I loved knowing that, while I grew from it, it left me feeling drained, overwhelmed and wondering what I’d do next. I’ll never forget my mom’s response to my confession. She said, “You might feel lonely sometimes. We all do. It’s normal. But please remember, you are never, ever alone.”
I carry her words with me always. My mom is one of my very best friends. Those words gained their power not just from their truth, but also from the fact that she meant them. In fact, I know that, as a mother, she lives them. It’s her purpose to actually be them. We move a lot. It can leave me feeling a bit without an anchor. It would be easy to fall into the trap of alone-thinking. But, she’s right. I’m not alone….ever…even in the bathroom, because, hey, I have three kids under 10. The cool thing is, outside the bathroom I’m not alone either! The greatest blessing of our nomadic lifestyle is the absolutely amazing group of people I’ve come to call friends. I’m simply surrounded by really awesome people.
I look around my life and I realize that in literally every single corner of the globe I have a friend. You might borrow my car and I might bring you groceries when your kids are sick. I cry into my coffee and you into your glass of wine (or, of course, vice versa). We laugh. We dance. We sit around doing nothing. We have grand adventures in international bargaining. But, no matter what, we are not alone. We’re interconnected in the grand serendipitous flow of opening and closing windows here, there and everywhere.
There’s no other way to say it – it’s simply awesome. And, I’d like to believe that, when we remember this we are stronger. When we commit to embracing the things that bind us, we find levels of love and creativity and inspiration that we never recognized before. I believe we gain so much from this connection.
So, yes, sometimes we’re lonely or stuck or on the wrong path, but there’s no reason to do it alone! Tell a friend. Call a family member. Employ the buddy system. Write an email and lay it all on the line. Admit, to someone, that you’re treading water. Because, simply put, why be alone when it’s always better when we’re together…
