Sharing is Caring
“...to help another get out of their hell, gotta give a little piece of yourself...”
- Jason Mraz
How are you at sharing, being generous, contributing? This could be in reference to your time, money, energy, creativity, emotions. How much do you cling tightly to all that you have or are; tying it with your identity and worth?
Do you cling to any of the below to increase your sense of self?
Your job title, income, appearance, possessions, ideas, relationships, intelligence…
How could you hold any of those a bit more loosely and flip the script by being generous in those areas? This ties in to a skill from Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, “Contributing.” Often when dealing with anxiety or depression, we can get caught up in our internal narratives and isolate. One way to work with this is by contributing to a cause or relationship by volunteering, donating, creating or having a conversation with someone who is struggling. Of course, this can feel like the last thing we want to do if wrestling with mental health symptoms, yet if we can get past the barriers, it may become a strong healing factor in our wellbeing. I have seen this healing impact in group therapy many times; when people get into others’ stories and offer encouragement and presence, it helps the helper!
I recently listened to an interview with Matthew Desmond, the author of Evicted. He stated, “There’s no way to stall poverty in America without sharing.” What if we expanded this idea to also include mental illness and loneliness? Meaning, if we want to offer support in those areas, we have to do it by sharing.
Sharing our stories with others to increase connection and reduce stigma
Sharing our abundant resources so need decreases
Sharing our money so there’s less for us, yet enough for all
Sharing our time and ideas for the health, wellbeing and empowerment of others
Sharing our energy so those with less can rest
Sharing our emotions so others can see their emotions are also worthy to be shared
Sharing our struggles so others know they are not alone
Sharing ourselves to help people get out of their own hell
You may just be a piece of heaven for someone else’s journey