“Get er done” is a common
phrase I heard growing up. And sometimes
when my sisters and I stopped and looked around, we were the only ones left to
“get er done.”
Up until the time that I
was 23 or 24 I thought that being independent was the ultimate goal. You are the one designated to “Get er done.”
You, and only you. But, I had also
convinced myself that I wanted to do everything myself. I would go so far as to decide to let someone
get me a drink, leave right after them, find a shorter path and get both of our
drinks and come back before they knew what hit them. Being independent and
dependent on no one had become my second nature.
That is, until I had no
choice but to rely on someone other than me. I can think of specific memories
when these times came about, but it wasn’t until when I had heart surgery that
I truly valued and believed that life isn’t meant to be done alone.
I remember the feeling
that I had lying in a hospital bed at 2am in the morning, crying. My sister had come all the way from northern
California to take care of me when I had heart surgery, but the people at the
hospital wouldn’t let her stay. It made
me feel so alone, but I didn’t let anyone know.
I honestly just wanted someone to sit there with me, but I was so
focused on “being strong” that I told her it was okay that she left the first
time they stated that visiting hours were over.
I want to stop treating
independence as a goal and start recognizing that letting others help and
leaning on them is okay. Not in an
unhealthy way, but knowing that I’m not alone, that you’re not alone. Listen to this Marie Miller song, she knows what she is
talking about.
While I was lying in the
hospital bed waiting for the doctors to fix my heart and write off being a
victim of Wolff-Parkinson White Syndrome, I relied on a great many people. And without hesitation, I put my ultimate success
in earning my Master’s degree in Higher Education in those same hands (yes, I
still have a year, but I wouldn’t have gotten here, nor where I am going
without them). My friend who took care
of my precious baby, Kaden, my supervisor who helped me take care of my work
duties without having to worry, my friends who supported me emotionally and in
prayer and supplication, my family who would have or did drop everything to be
with me, and many more who simply said “you can do this.” I wouldn’t be here without all of you.
This may have been the
first time that I recognized, honored, and pursued the idea that I couldn’t do
life by myself, but it is NOT the first time that I did life with others.
Yes, we can change the
world. And I believe we can do that
simply by changing our thinking.
However, folks helped us get there.
Folks help us go further. We, are
all in this TOGETHER. High School
Musical, anyone? I’m not a big fan, but I hear they do a solid rendition of a
song that has the same basic idea behind it…Yep, here it is! Get it Zac Efron!!!
Our actions, behaviors,
attitude, etc. have all been shaped by those who we have surrounded ourselves
by in our lives. That includes our
family, friends, relatives, colleagues, the media, etc.
I have begun to
understand that these things that we are surrounded by should not be taken
lightly. These things, folks, are who
and what we rely on, on what makes us not so independent. We are what we eat. We are what we believe. We are what we allow to influence us. We are what we allow to consume our
thoughts.
So the question that I
ask myself is: Am I making good choices? Are you making good choices?
