When We Can’t Help

Friends suffer bad news
Often we can’t help, can’t help
One of life’s hard truths

One of our best human traits is the urge to help when we see others suffer any kind of hurt. This trait may be strongest when a person tries to fend off any harm from their child.

But it extends for most of us beyond our children, spouses or other long-time partners, parents, siblings, and other family to our friends, spiritual groups — -well, here we need to recognize that all people don’t have the same levels of caring for others. That is another subject, too deep for today.

My point in writing this is to recognize we all care for others to some depth of feeling. Most of us, quite honestly, wouldn’t immediately jump up to say we’ll donate a kidney if we hear a friend needs one.

But we genuinely regret that our friend is stricken in this way. And, I feel the question remains open as to how many eligible donors might surprise us by the act of offering this extreme level of help.

Sometimes even remote chances of help or relief are not possible. Which brings us back to the feeling of utter despair when we find there are some circumstances where nothing will help.

Some bad news can’t be fixed or avoided.

One of our worst fears is being helpless, in any situation. Being unable to solve the problem, the impossibly bad scenario, causes those of us who haven’t faced this before to grow up a little more.

We must accept one of adulthood’s most painful realities.

I write haikus, other forms of poetry, and articles about whatever is occurring in my life or whatever I read in the news. If you like, the link to find more of my writing and ideas is here.