Episode #254 - Leave A Light On

How Can We Best Help Those We Love?

I recently did an episode on the vitalness of showing up for yourself. No one else is coming. If you want to make your life better, then YOU must make your life better. As the old adage goes, “you can bring a horse to the water, but you can’t make them drink it”. However, we are also all here for each other. I’ve often said in the past that we should acquire strength, first, to lift ourselves up and second, to lift others up. This is the other side of the coin. But what can we really do to help each other?

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Episode Transcript

The Horse to the Water

I think that one of the hardest things to watch in life is to see someone whom you deeply care about be negligent in helping themselves, in showing up for themselves. The classic example is the parents who have a kid that becomes addicted to drugs. They waste all of their money on it, they never come home and when they do they’re a ghost.

In many cases, the parents will let that relationship destroy themselves. That’s the thing about unconditional love that parents have for their kids; it’s irrational. Sometimes, that irrationality is a good thing for the kid. For example, if a mother sees a bear approaching their kid, most would run at the bear, scare him off, or try and fight them if needed. That’s entirely irrational if the mother could have gotten away.

But most mothers and fathers would fight tooth and nail to protect their kids, even die for them. Likewise, most parents would allow the toxic relationship with their kid ruin their life. Imagine if you knew someone at work that started having a drug problem. Hopefully, you’d try and help them, but when push came to shove, you’d probably not jeopardize your own life for them. Many parents absolutely would.