Together With You

A new album from BTS came out today and these lyrics struck me as so beautiful (thank you, BTS-trans), I had to share.

“Together with you, I can smile.”

The sun is shining and winds are howling today in Wisconsin. The dry, brown grass and naked tree branches madly rattling about can leave one feeling bleak and alone.

Desolate.

I have a ton of things I need to get done. I have gobs of worries, big and small. I have insecurities, fears and doubts that at times, overwhelm me. Sure, I’d love to “fly” like a majestic swan of rising accomplishment and pride. But many times I fight the urge to “fly” the other way- in tears of defeat and failure. We all do.

Yes. We have to remember we’re not alone.

The details of who we are don’t matter- what we do, who & what we like or what we think. We. Are. Not. Alone.

There are roughly 7 billion of us on the planet as I write. 7,000,000,000 people. We all came from a womb. We all breathe. We all eat. We all sweat in the heat and shiver in the cold. We all have someone around us with whom we could share a smile if we’d tried. I like to sit with that idea for a while: picturing the things I share with people who I am close to but also with those who I only know in passing. It helps build my sense of community. Then, I can actually DO something with those whom I’m not deeply connected because I’ve already made a connection of some sort in my mind. My mindset changes and so do I. I can reach out and talk to someone, volunteer somewhere, write to someone or simply be there to listen to and acknowledge another’s life.

I have benefited immensely from others reaching out to me over the years. It can be terrifying to admit to needing help or being in pain. I cannot express how grateful I am for the words and deeds I have received from others. Some were painful. Some exquisitely put. All have contributed to who I am today.

English writer John Heywood (1497-1580)  is credited with coining the phrase “Many hands make light work.” He also gave us “Two heads are better than one.” and “The more the merrier.”. I find it wonderful that both an Englishman who lived over 450 years ago and a bunch of 20-something Koreans living today all felt the need to remind us all of this key fact in our existence: we are stronger together.

We can lift each other up- we can be each other's wings. Here’s to a week full of wings!!!