Well hello, stranger
"I have been thinking about asking for help"
That is not something you will hear someone say very easily. The human mind is trapped in pride and we will rather struggle than ask "Hey, help me please". I often wonder why. Why do we choose to suffer in silence? We don't speak up for ourselves and more than not, the reason we feel miserable is our own fault. There are people who care no matter how useless you may feel, our minds just play tricks on us.
A baby praying mantis chilling outside my door one morning... The next second my cat comes running up to it ready to crush this teeny tiny critter... I hold my cat back while trying to save the little guy... But it's a struggle...
I am in the process of doing my PhD and some days I find myself lost in my mind maze, spending hours running from dead end to dead end. My co-author will often times ask me "can I help?" to which I will reply "no, I am just a bit confused with this or that". He will leave me alone in my dark corner for a bit, and send me an email or text with information on the topic. And during our coffee break, he forces me to have a conversation about that information. I hate it sometimes, but it works! It's not that I don't understand the information, but rather that I'm unable to organise it in my mind. Speaking to someone allows my mind to find order in the chaos. And afterwards, I am able to figure out the maze and continue with my writing.
So what de hell does the baby praying mantis have to do with this?
Well, I think people and animals/ insects are a lot alike. This little guy didn't want me to help him escape from the cat. I tried to pick him up and he jumped away, but not far enough for the cat to leave him alone. This continued for a bit... Just like us humans, we know we need the help, but we are too proud to admit it so we rather struggle to jump away for the cat in our lives.
And sometimes we are able to get ourselves out of those situations by jumping high enough! This fella was able to jump onto my plant stand while I held back the cat. But you see he was still not safe. Yes, we can safe ourselves at times, and other days we still need someone to hold back the cat while we jump.
I tried to move him again, knowing that if he stays there my cat will find a way to catch him. I succeeded in getting him on one of my succulents. I decided to let him be for a while so he could calm down. So I gave him his space, the same way my co-author gives me space when I say I don't need assistance. I went to get coffee and just sat outside with this little fella exploring the plants.
Once he was more comfortable with me I approached him and moved him onto my hand. He didn't flinch. I moved him over to one of the trees close to my door. Look at him being majestic.
Just like this baby praying mantis, we tend to struggle to get somewhere not allowing assistance from others... And yes we may get somewhere on our own, not realising that others still helped us. And after a while, we realise "hey I can do more/ go further with the support of others". It is only then that we allow ourselves to push away pride so we can achieve greatness. 
Life isn't always easy and asking for help or allowing it does not make us weak. As much as I'm preaching to you, I'm also preaching to myself.
Thank you for stopping by! I hope this will make you think a bit about the times you needed help but was too afraid or proud to ask. We all need help sometimes and that's okay. In the end, it may just be what we need to achieve the things we dream of. And with that said, remember to support others where you can, you might just help them from that tiny succulent to a giant tree.
Cover Photo 📸