Thursday was a big day for Danielle.
11 months sober.
I didn’t even know sobriety was an issue for her.
You could feel both her pride and apprehension in her Facebook post informing her friends of her milestone. Apparently she’s been down this path before, she knows it’s something she is taking one step at a time.
It was great to see the love, support, and encouragement her friends posted in reply. Her replies to their posted comments indicated she, too, was quite happy for the love being sent her way.
Danielle bravely decided to publicly share her struggles with those in her social media world. Bravely, because our world tends to look down on struggle, leaving many of those who do struggle to struggle in silence, battling their own demons alone. Struggle often comes with an unwanted and undeserved stigma attached to it which fuels the silence.
Our world tends not to “celebrate” vulnerability or weakness.
Struggle shows up in many ways. Sometimes the demons take the form of doubt, fear, emptiness, and uncertainty. The struggle inside is often hidden behind a smile on the outside.
Emotional camouflage.
Perhaps its easier to be supportive when you know a person is struggling. But since we often never really know if they are facing internal challenges, maybe it’s best if we simply assume they are.
Assume they struggle.
Because they probably are.
And they could use the love and compassion we are all able to give to each other.
Let’s not let anyone struggle alone.
Photo by Rémi Walle on Unsplash
Peter Mis LivingHalfFull.com 