The Helper and the Helped--And Never the Twain Shall Meet

[faerie_spark]

I have occupied two spaces, two places, two halves of the same sphere-I have been both helper and helped

Comments

[eska818]

I think this is an amazing and thoughtful viewpoint, and very well-written. It's certainly made me think twice about the way I sometimes talk to my disabled uncle. I imagine I hurt his feelings sometimes, though I don't mean to.

[faerie_spark]

Thank you for the compliment. I think all any of us can ever really do is be more conscious of how we treat and talk to others. Being more aware can help us be generous to those we care about.

[solstice_singer]

This was an awesome entry. As always, I admire your insight.

The "Helped" can be "helpers". The sooner the rest of the world realizes this, the better off we'll all be.

[faerie_spark]

Thanks for your admiration. smile...

Artificiall dividing helper and helped doesn't really help anyone!y

[similiesslip]

I like the reminder that we all can help in some ways and that young people are more capable than most give them credit for. I'm glad you have a good partner. He sounds amazing :)

[faerie_spark]

thanks for reading, and for telling me what you liked about this. Appreciated!

[whipchick]

This is so thoughtful and thought-provoking, and I love how you interrogate your own feelings and ego around helper/helping at the same time that you point out issues around it in the larger world. You definitely leave me checking in with where I fit on this continuum--and why do I feel like it has to be a specific destination?

Two minor typos -

"Nearly none of us has been given" should be "have given"
"emotional tole" should be "toll."

Great read.

[faerie_spark]

Thanks for your feedbac, and for letting me know about the typos! :)

I'd like to talk to you about writing and publishing some time.

[i_will_not_say]

This piece made me think!

[faerie_spark]

Yay! That was my goal. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.