A few weeks ago I started a thread called the swimming pool....It was just about this website and I compared the site to a swimming pool which consisted of learners, intermediates and experienced swimmers....
I was both overwhelmed and touched by the reaction of people who read it...The main thing though which struck me as I read the replies from everyone was just how many people out there, myself included, are putting on this face which tells the world that, hey, everythings fine, I'm okay, but what we really want to say is, please help me, I can't do this alone, I need support.....
That is one of the reasons MWO is the success it is...We are all in the same boat, making the same journey....We can empathise with each other, cry for each other and congratulate each other, on here yes, we can do all that, but what of the outside world, what about relatives, friends, neighbours, work colleagues, your childrens teacher, even the check-out girl in the supermarket who greets you by name.....They see you, or rather they see what you let them see, and they assume you are fine....
So, as we are pretending to them that we are okay, how do we know that they aren't doing the same to us....Presenting that smiling happy face but inside shouting for help....How many of us, I wonder, would be able to recognise the signs, to look beyond the smile and see the pain, to hear the cry for help?
Years ago I found a poem written by Stevie Smith, it has always been a favourite of mine and I think it illustrates the point I am trying to make....
Not Waving but Drowing.
Nobody heard him, the dead man.
But still he lay moaning.
I was much further out than you thought
And not waving but drowning.
Poor chap, he always loved larking
And now he's dead
It must have been to cold for him his heart gave way,
They said.
Oh, no no no, it was too cold always
( Still the dead one lay moaning )
I was much too far out all my life
And not waving but drowning....
Take care, Love from Louise xxxxx
I was both overwhelmed and touched by the reaction of people who read it...The main thing though which struck me as I read the replies from everyone was just how many people out there, myself included, are putting on this face which tells the world that, hey, everythings fine, I'm okay, but what we really want to say is, please help me, I can't do this alone, I need support.....
That is one of the reasons MWO is the success it is...We are all in the same boat, making the same journey....We can empathise with each other, cry for each other and congratulate each other, on here yes, we can do all that, but what of the outside world, what about relatives, friends, neighbours, work colleagues, your childrens teacher, even the check-out girl in the supermarket who greets you by name.....They see you, or rather they see what you let them see, and they assume you are fine....
So, as we are pretending to them that we are okay, how do we know that they aren't doing the same to us....Presenting that smiling happy face but inside shouting for help....How many of us, I wonder, would be able to recognise the signs, to look beyond the smile and see the pain, to hear the cry for help?
Years ago I found a poem written by Stevie Smith, it has always been a favourite of mine and I think it illustrates the point I am trying to make....
Not Waving but Drowing.
Nobody heard him, the dead man.
But still he lay moaning.
I was much further out than you thought
And not waving but drowning.
Poor chap, he always loved larking
And now he's dead
It must have been to cold for him his heart gave way,
They said.
Oh, no no no, it was too cold always
( Still the dead one lay moaning )
I was much too far out all my life
And not waving but drowning....
Take care, Love from Louise xxxxx
Control the Mind
Comment