It started in January 1946

A girl was born

Feisty

Passionate

Determined

She moved through the world in a way that brought change

And she did so with grace

She proved you can lift others up with love

With compassion

With dignity

In a world full of greed

In a world full of ignorance

In a world full of heartless a$$es

In a world full individuals who hide behind a mask

She shone a light and helped people find a way out of darkness

Sometimes it takes a smile

Sometimes it takes a helping hand

Sometimes it takes checking in on someone just because

Sometimes it takes going over to someone’s home and helping in whatever way you can because they’re drowning in an invisible battle you can’t see

And, sometimes, if you’re in the position to, using funds to help someone with a hand up

Take a moment

Step back

And look at the world around you

Spread some love to a neighbor

A friend

A colleague

A family member

Or a random stranger

All it takes is a smile and ‘What can I do to help you today’

Even it’s a 10 minute chat

Or buying someone a cup of coffee

For you don’t know what’s going on behind the facade

In a world full of Trumps

Be a Dolly

Through twists and turns

Valleys and peaks

Paths that lead to nowhere

Adventures that lead to discoveries

Roadways that are limitless

But is it taking you where you thought you’d go?

Or did it take you to the most unexpected place?

For when you start out, there’s a vision you’re chasing

Until you don’t

Through the sorrow and heartache

The unexpected

The unforseen

The curveballs

Ending up somewhere else completely

But was it worth it?

Considering all that was lost along the way

Some of which may have been necessary for you to see more clearly

Moving forward more enlightened

Sometimes showing others need to be left behind

Because not everyone you meet is meant to stay

The case is making headlines

A mother in Massachusetts killed her children

Her mental health is taking centre stage

The divide is already apparent

But should there be?

It’s a tale as old as time

Two individuals meet

Fall in love

Get married

Have children

But then it starts

For many mothers, it’s where everything starts and stops

Everything from daily care to the invisible mental workload and everything inbetween

Throw in a mental health condition, like Postpartum Depression or Postpartum Psychosis, it adds another layer

Mix in no village and it makes it harder

But it shouldn’t matter, right?

As long as she has a significant other, there’s ‘someone’ to help her

As long as she has a significant other, they can ‘trade off’ responsibilities; tag team it

As long as she has a significant other, she can ‘take a break’ when needed

As long as she has a significant other, she has someone to ‘lean on’

As long as…

…until she doesn’t

As long as…

…until she has breakdown because she’s the one carrying all the weight

As long as…

…until she gets slammed because she didn’t ask for help

Even though she did

A million times over

But no one paid attention

That is, no one paid attention until she starts to crack and begins to fall apart

The the criticism starts

She wasn’t doing enough to ask for help

Nor was she asking loudly enough

Even though she was

You just didn’t hear her until tragedy

The ones who carry the lamp?

I’ve heard stories

Caught glimpses

But haven’t really met one

Are they like leprechauns?

And unicorns?

Only existing in an alternative universe?

Because others swear they exist

You don’t need to say it

Because if you do

Your actions will speak louder

Take it for what it is

You may believe your right

That what you’re saying is true

Because, to you, it is

But the actions that follow say more

The truth lies in what you don’t say

In how you treat others

Or try to ‘fix’ me into something ‘better’?

See me for me?

Or put me in a ‘box’ based on your view of someone else connected to me?

It’s easy to compartmentalize someone based on what you see

An image

Or by the people that may be associated with any given individual

But are you willing to see beyond it?

Dig dipper to see if what you’re assuming is correct?

Granted, some cases are obvious

But are they all?

Are you categorizing?

I may not fit the box you put me in

But why are people being judged by what box they should fit in?

Maybe it’s time to rethink how individuals are viewed

There’s more to any given individual (and situation) than what you see

Or even told

There’s always a trail that follows any given person

Just because the start line is the same

Doesn’t mean the route to the finish line is

Some made the choice themselves

Others has the choice made made for them

Either way, none of them will be making their way back ‘in’

Things have happened

A lot of which proved to be eye opening

Not only for the problems it showed

But also for how others reacted to the problem

And the fallout that followed

For the biggest problem in life may not necessarily be the path you’re on

But the people you encounter on that path

Many may have good intentions

But the random one doesn’t

And unless you’ve dealt with one that loves to create chaos wherever they go

And it results in individuals becoming lost to the chaos and the challenges that come with it

You don’t have the right to critique how they move forward

For sometimes the problematic ones come in ‘pretty packages’ and lay the blame on the victim

Or the problem is placed on the shoulders of someone simply because of association (‘the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree’)

The loss that follows is sometimes easier to deal with

Because after you start to find yourself again

The ultimate goal is keep peace with yourself

Anyone lost in the process wasn’t meant to stay

Even if you can’t understand it

The one who walked away

Intentionally

After months (maybe years) of telling their story

Only for it to fall in deaf ears

So silence followed

And a departure

No explanation

No notice

Just gone

For there are times situations arise

Where information trickles down the grapevine

You hear (or get told) of something that has happened

But it seems too far fetched

So you categorize it

Put it aside

But the story won’t go away

It keeps getting told

More details emerge

Still doesn’t seem believable

Maybe a little misperception is mixed in

Either intentionally or subconsciously

Biases may be coming to the surface

Because there may be a history involved associated with parties connected to the one making the claims

So when a break happens

And they walk

Because they’re just done

But a no contact situation has now occurred

One you may (or may not) have seen coming

Are you now seeing things you didn’t before?

Words can only convey so much

Silence doesn’t offer expectations

But sometimes, walking away brings peace

And truth

A new path is being forged without you in it

Even if the original intention was to keep you involved

But it became necessary to remove you

For you may be holding onto a truth doesn’t actually exist

Except to you

When you’re knee deep in a war you didn’t start

When the silent treatment is being hashed out as a ‘punishment’ over something you didn’t even do

When you remain silent about what’s happening only for the offended party to double down on ‘what’s right’ and how you’re ‘wrong’

And you’re put into a position where you’re ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’

So you go ahead and live how you choose

Silently doing you

Silently doing what’s necessary

Silently doing what’s right

Silently moving forward

Silently just ‘doing’

No fuss

No drawing attention

But refusing to back down

Just silent

When there’s so much to say

But no amount of words can convey the context

Words

So many thoughts

So many experiences

So many expectations

But no amount of words will be able to convey any of it

Because what’s happening in my world isn’t the same as what’s happening in yours

Because the results you expect with the advice you give isn’t feasible

It’s already been tried

Multiple times

Multiple ways

Because situations sometimes fall through the cracks

And this is one of them

Where things SHOULD be covered

But aren’t

Where excuses are being made for people when they shouldn’t be

Where context is important

But is overlooked

Because words are taken as face value

When grace is needed

But judgements are passed instead

When action (and help) is needed most

But watching from afar is preferred

Because words can only convey so much

Even if you THINK you have a pretty good idea of what’s happening

Without taking into account the actions or mindset of the other parties involved

Because they have a bigger impact than you think they do

Just because YOU ‘walk the line’

Doesn’t mean ALL individuals do

For when you see where others are coming from (you don’t necessarily need to understand the reasoning behind it)

It changes how you react

Because words mean nothing if you don’t see the context or ‘the other side’