"ARTIFICIAL FEARS"- GROWING UP WITH NEW TECHNOLOGIES.

“Echo.”

Olive peeks over the edge of the counter. She lifts her chin to direct her words at the black, round device plugged into the wall. A ring of blue lights responds to the voice of my five-year-old girl, communicating that the hockey puck-shaped appliance is listening.

“Tell me a joke.”

Our artificial-intelligence-tool hops into action, giving Olive what she asks for: a joke that she can’t possibly understand. But I see my little girl swell with a bit of pride; she rises onto her toes, grinning simply because her individual desire has been acknowledged. (I bet she wishes I had flashing blue lights to announce my undivided attention…).

Alexa goes by her other name, Echo, when someone like me wants to circumvent the idea that we have brought an invisible woman into our home with the only intent of telling her what to do. “Echo” makes her more of an AI, and less connected to a woman with an actual woman name. Before we were gifted Alexa for Christmas, I felt tormented each time my father in law criticized this woman voice.

“Alexa, stop.”

Once again, she had not delivered the correct results when he demanded them. He raised his voice a little higher to command more specifically and clearly. I felt myself shrink into the couch in his living room as he disapproved of her performance.

“Arrgh. Alexa! You’re worthless.”

“Sorry...I don’t know that one.”

But it didn’t take long for our family to integrate this voice-activated servent into our own lives. Echo or not, I found myself frustrated at ‘her’ when she repeatedly answered my request for Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors” by playing the motion picture soundtrack rendition from Trolls.

“Echo! Gah! STOP.”

Olive’s pencil pauses atop her drawing. Her ice blue eyes find mine, searching me. Before I can justify my outburst, she has already taken whatever lesson I just bestowed upon her and gone back to her picture. Fuck.

Here is this little human. She will never know what life is like without Echo. An A.I. will live in all of her childhood memories. What layer of her growth would this bind to; writing her interpretation of the world? (Yes, this is the normal level of crazy that my mind functions at when it comes to my kids.)

Of course, the earth continues its journey around the sun. And each generation has parents consumed by some similar worry over a technological advancement that “in my day” was never a thing: guns, motorized vehicles, televisions,... Echo seems a smidge trifle in comparison. Nonetheless, it’s my job to thoroughly exhaust every evil that could contaminate my kids. This skepticism, to scrutinize what isn’t visible to the naked eye, runs deep.

I have vivid memories of my mom’s outlook on our Nintendo. On an early Monday morning,  my sister and I missed the school bus.  I stood there beside her, glancing back up the steep, winding trail that led us home. The alternative was to walk forward into the woods where I could go and live, and never face the wrath of my mom. We didn’t own a vehicle. School was too far away to trek it. We had just guaranteed ourselves a day off, to be interpreted by whatever mood my mom was in when we woke her up to tell her.

I crept softly into her dark room, blankets hung, blocking out the light of day. I crouched beside her bed and very soothingly whispered her name,

“Mama.” She responded with a grunt of acknowledgment. “We missed the bus…” A single beat of silence as my heart thumped in my throat.

“Okay.” She pulled the blankets up around her face and fell back into a slumber. We were scot-free! We poured ourselves seconds on cereal and happily hunkered down in front of the tiny TV to play Super Mario Bros. Sarah could never beat me. I still kick some serious ass at that game. But on that morning, which quickly bled into the afternoon, my mother slept on, and our cereal bowls accumulated, and shoes were strewn about with unused backpacks. We bickered slightly over whose turn it was to be Luigi, our voices rising, forgetting the precarious situation that had allowed us to play video games for the better part of this Monday.

Suddenly the french doors to my mother’s bedroom were thrown open. My sister and I both thought we’d die of heart attacks, clamoring for the solace of each other as if we’d never argued a day in our lives. My mother stood there; think Cruella Deville after she wrecks her car in the snow, only to resurface at full terrifying force in her hunt to slaughter dalmatian puppies. My mom tore into the living room, clawing at the air in front of her until she had located the gray console atop the tv.  She ripped it from its plugs, both controllers dangling, and without a word, she pivoted and stalked back into her bedroom. Light flooded abruptly into our two-story home as the blankets in her window were wrenched away; the sound of straining metal as the window was heaved open; our hearts freezing during the second of silence that came before a faint crashing of plastic tumbled down the mountain below.  

This outburst was premeditated. My mom had often complained of the time we wasted on “that thing”; time we could have spent playing outside, or, cleaning something. Miraculously, the following day after she had defenestrated our beloved video game, we found our mother’s demeanor changed. After some tampering and vigorous blowing, we were able to play our game once again. They just don’t make things like they used to.

Back in this present day: I am forever indebted to Echo for: correctly spelling things, for sharing just enough news with me, and for 9 times out of ten, playing the correct song as I wash dishes. I say “thank you” to this thing, this object, to which she cleverly responds “no worries”.  And when I lose my cool with her, Olive reminds me to be nice to Echo. Even Opa has found a calmer voice when it comes to faulting a device that depends on people asking good questions.

When the kids request that Echo play Parry Gripp for the umpteenth time at volume 10, and I find myself conditioned into singing along,   “It’s raining tacos....” I do momentarily consider my mother’s tactics. But so far, so good. And that’s pretty much my outlook now: we’ve come so far, and we have so far to go. Our advancements will continue to progress. I hope to continue embracing them as opportunities for good.

-Emily

FINDING YOUR PURPOSE IN THE MIDST OF MOTHERHOOD.

There you are, again, sitting on the floor, neck deep in the drudgery that is rumpled laundry waiting to be folded and distributed to its respective dressers, wondering if there is more to life than this? Post kids, finding fulfillment becomes extra challenging. There are rewarding activities that come from a little self indulgence (going to hot yoga or reading self help books in the bathtub… oh, is that just me??), but I'm not referencing that type of fulfillment, I'm talking about actual purpose.

Many of us, men and women alike, will never even make it to the self exploration required to identify our purposes in life. Kids or no kids, it's a struggle that requires time, intention, and introspection. The few, the lucky, will seem to come out of utero primed to do what they were born to, and then there's the rest of us.

It's easy to get lost in momming and never make it out, sorta like when you dress your pajamas up with a jacket, call it an outfit, proceed to wear it all day, and then roll right back into bed with them still on. Self neglect is widespread in the realm of parenting, and it's a sure fire way to stunt growth. Many of us will go to our graves never having found our reason for living.

This is probably going to hurt a little, but your soul purpose (the play on words is intentional) is not “only” to be a mother. Ouch, I said it. Don't hate me. I say “only” not as a way to condescend or minimize the immeasurably important role that is motherhood, just to express that there is more. Let's break this down logistically for a minute, somewhere between 80-90% of women have children during the course of their lives. That's the bulk of the population. The world needs variety to make it go round, child rearing is more or less a given in a woman’s life. That's a whole lot of us filling the same bracket. Birthing and raising children is a requirement for our species’ survival. Yes, it has purpose, loads of it, but as far as being your reason for living, unlikely. The reason you're alive, yes- you, me, and everyone else, but that's completely different from your purpose in living. Make no mistake, a solid two decades of our lives will be dedicated to sculpting and nurturing our children. Flour, water, and yeast don't make bread unless crafted by our two hands. And, fostering the growth of our children is purpose laden, fundamental stuff. Decent humans make for a decent world.

But, here's the problem with parenting being a soul purpose- It ends. At some point, your children leave the nest, and your work is over. You'll forever worry about them and field the occasional phone call, but assuming you did your job right, they won't take up residence in your basement or look to you for constant support, post adulthood. So, who are you after that?

Unintentional parenthood came early for some, and that's put a strain on personal progress. Not to say that we don't learn copious amounts about ourselves during the process of child rearing. Strengths are identified that we never knew we had and priorities are shifted in ways they'd never have been otherwise. But, parenting also serves as a major distraction from the individual woman that resides somewhere in there, amidst the boo boo kissing, dinner making, soccer games, school drop offs, and dishes. The focus is on others. Much of learning yourself, as a woman, happens with the mistake laden, self indulgent and self absorbed craziness that is your entire 20’s. Motherhood and womanhood are two exclusive beasts, with vastly different types of growth inherent to each.

Others have chosen parenthood early. It’s a natural social progression to marry and start a family. If you were blessed enough to meet the yin to your yang in high school, that process is accelerated, and the aforementioned exploratory 20’s may have bypassed you. You might have checked right into motherhood or a career that fell into your lap, and has thus far made all of the choices for you. Pursuing your passion can be scary stuff and feel like an overwhelming responsibility. For most women, this isn't a conscious choice, but a subconscious avoidance. Knowing what feeds you as a woman is, for many, life’s greatest mystery, and entertaining the idea of figuring it out can be so mind boggling that it leads to paralysis.

Generally speaking, it's nice if you can identify what makes you tick before you procreate, but things don't always come in pretty little packages with perfect timelines. It's going to be difficult to do your soul searching with a bunch of hungry, dirty diapered toddlers tugging at your apron strings, but it's more than possible. It's imperative. Listen now and listen hard, if you want to lead a truly satisfying life before, during, and/or after children, you have got to identify what the hell your soul was put here to do.

This is always, every single time, going to involve serving others. Being instrumental in the lives of your fellow humans comes in a myriad of forms. Maybe you bring health and confidence by teaching yoga. Maybe you inspire young brains of the world by teaching. Maybe you prepare healthy meals that invite nutrition, or create music that gives a voice to others thoughts. Whatever this thing is, once you acknowledge it, a spark will be ignited that cannot be burned out, and you won't be able to turn your back on it without significant emotional repercussions.

I have a lot of things that I love to do. Decorating makes my heart go pitter patter, exercise lights me up, reading feeds me, cooking and baking warm my soul, but none of these things are IT for me. I exist to accumulate knowledge via reading and life experiences and then dispense that information. It is my raison de vivre. I can't not do it. Anyone who knows me will attest to this. If we’re in the same room, at some point I’m going to unload info that I believe will be of use.

Initially, I went to school for interior design, but towards the end of the program I realized that this field was too aesthetic for me, and centering my life around it felt trite. I resigned to make it a hobby, something to help friends with, and then promptly changed my major to psychology. A year away from a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy, I quit the biz to become a hairstylist. Probably doesn't sound like a smart move given my passions, but at the ripe old age of 27, and in the midst of a struggling marriage that was soon to end, I didn't feel equipped with enough life experiences, patience, or know how to counsel anyone through anything.

Doing hair was creative for me, but never purposeful. My soul found a way to emerge within the constraints of my job, as it often will, and what drove me was the interaction I had with the women in my chair, a captive audience to dispense the aforementioned information to. Two hours of face time lends itself to intimacy. Women who get their hair done with any consistency, spend more uninterrupted personal time truly engaging with their hairstylist than most anyone else. Bonus for the girl who loves talking about relationships and human nature.

After my third child, work became overwhelming, given my propensity for depth in interaction and communication. Between my job and parenting, I didn't have much left to give. I was running on empty. When we moved, I decided to stop doing hair and try my hand at being a stay at home mom.

Care taking fuels me in many ways. I'm a nurturer by nature, but my kids aren't interested in the ramblings of a 40 year old woman or why the mucilage emitted by chia seeds is cleansing to the digestive system.  After almost a year of having minimal outlets for communicating and sharing, angst set in, commingled with a little depression. Facebook and Instagram became unjustifiably interesting, and I often found myself lost in my phone, trying to fill a void with crap that other people were posting to fill their voids, i.e. pictures of dogs cuddling kittens and chalkboard signs for every non monumental event in their children’s lives. Not gonna work. I knew I wasn't feeding my soul, but didn't know how to remedy the situation. Doing hair again, and building a clientele from the ground up, wasn't realistic or financially sensible with three kids, and would land me right back into the exhausted boat I started with. I asked the Universe for an answer, it arrived in the form of blogging. When the inspiration showed up, it was like a sucker punch, swift and clear, stopping me in my tracks. I knew exactly what I needed to do and exactly how to do it. When you identify your passion, it'll hit you hard, there will be no denying it. Blogging may not be the end all be all, but my eyes are opened, and I have unwavering faith that my path will unfold before me if each step I take is conscious and with purpose.

Let's chat about how to work this out for yourself:

1. Be mindful, take moments for yourself to be still and listen. Ask for guidance, whether that's to God, Allah, the Universe, or your spirit guide. This may take time. Ask and ask again. But, you've got to be still to hear the answer. Make that space for yourself. Get off your phone and hide in the closet for five minutes. Go for a run without music. Turn off the lights when you're on a bathroom break. Quiet your mind in the shower. Breathe and listen. No excuses.

2. Pay attention to how you feel when you’re pursuing different endeavors. This requires mindfulness again. Is there anything that you're doing, be it ever so small, that ignites purpose? For me, when I'm talking to people about subjects that evoke passion in me, it's like my brain goes on autopilot, and I'm a bystander to my own words, because my soul is acting through me. It may be different for you, but there should be some sort of spark, a soul’s remembrance if you will, when you're in the zone of pursuing your purpose.

3. Read some books about the subject. See recommendations below.

4. Journal about it.

5. Talk to a friend, brainstorm, voice your deepest ideas and fears. Epiphanies are easily met when putting thoughts into words.

6. If there is a fear holding you back or a contextual issue, list the worst things that could happen if you went for it. And, remember, step one doesn't have to be moving to a third world country to join the Peace Corps. It could be as simple as organizing a food drive at church. Work within the realm of your own world.

7. Know this with complete assuredness, when you open the door to progress and desire, to something meaningful that enhances you and those in your wake, turning your back on fears, you will be doubly rewarded. Doors will fly open all around you. But, you have to take the first courageous step, keeping the fear of failure and inadequacy at bay, or you’ll never even see those doors. The prize of personal risk is progress and nothing halts progress quite like fear. Fear often comes in the form of excuses; “I'm too busy,” “I’m too tired,” “I’m too broke.” Bullshit. This is what you were born for. Get it.

And on that note, I'll leave you.

-Angi

"I DO" THE OFTEN UNMENTIONED BUSINESS OF MARRIAGE.

Twelve years ago, I agreed to engage in a very serious business with a tall, dark-haired, young man. He had the clean shaven face of a baby as he walked through the apartment door and held out a giant, pink donut box to me. His expression was slightly terrified, switching suddenly to confused, as he registered that my hands were covered in chalky white Ajax. I was kneeling beside him as he awkwardly struggled to reverse our positions. He asked me to rise; to stop scrubbing the yellowing corners of the linoleum in what had very recently become ‘our’ kitchen.  I quickly rinsed my hands and turned to receive his adamant offering. Quickly he went down onto one knee, and I gasped, first because the floor was still covered in wet Ajax, and then a second time, when I realized what was actually happening. I slowly lifted the cardboard lid and inside was a familiar crystal doorknob nestled atop a tiny blue pillow.

Photo courtesy of Sage Imagery

This was the way my grandfather had proposed to my grandmother (sans the Ajax and the donut box). He was too poor to get her an engagement ring, so he offered her a perfectly round, glass doorknob instead. The hardware attached looked like a giant gold ring. My grandma still boasts that she owns the world’s largest diamond.

The doorknob John presented to me that day, was taken from his bedroom closet door, in the old house where one week ago he rented a room. He and his roomates affectionately called their home “the Alamo” because of its Spanish/Mexican exterior. It sat nestled in a peach orchard, where the sweet smell of warm fruit on hot summer nights came wafting through open windows. Upstairs in his room, John had a giant black and white poster of Audrey Hepburn on one wall. A closet stashed with dirty laundry, old guitars and broken skateboards stood ajar on the opposite wall. I discovered the crystal doorknob sometime before we began dating. I couldn’t help but receive it as an omen. Later I would nonchalantly mention its significance to John, its presence existing beside us as we spent weekends happily marooned on his full size bed, a mattress and boxspring on the floor, watching movies on his tiny tv together, hands intertwined, sharing our histories and our bodies.

If I paint too flowery of a picture, I beg you to permit it. Our courtship was short lived, and so I stretch the memories of my youthful love with John to claim the foundational space it deserves.  I would cling to these recollections in the following months when the pleasure of our new love was quickly overtaken by the business of pregnancy and marriage. Wedding plans, morning sickness, doctor visits, and financial concerns loomed. I had to glorify each second of that summer to justify why the inconveniences and hardships ahead were worthy endeavors.

Pleasure and business had been mixed.

An article featuring advice from the Young Entrepreneur Council, has many wise warnings on this matter. This is priceless advice for anyone getting married: “It’s tough to manage a friendship when business will need to be a priority.” For me personally, becoming a mother, a homemaker and a wife would feel like being torn into three separate pieces. The sentimental reasons credited for our unity would be sucker punched right out of the marital ring. On Friday nights I sat alone with a breastfeeding baby, unable to sufficiently pump milk, unable to go out with our pals, unable to speak up about how unfair I thought it was that John was still entitled to this freedom. He was a our sole provider. He was accustomed to leaving us at home. And his youth was still this real attainable thing. He wasn’t the one with the mammary glands, or the body that had been flipped inside out during birth.

The YEC says “before going into business with a friend, make sure you are clear about expectations and roles. This can save a lot of misunderstandings.” But all we had were some whimsy wedding vows. No one had delegated responsibilities, or discussed how we would equally distribute the new demands of family life.

John was able to continue doing the job he was accustomed to. His work was evaluated by his employers. He got paid, a solid nod to the fact that he was daily completing things that were of worth.  I, on the other hand had labored to give birth, the most valuable thing on earth to me was the payoff. Now each day I struggled to rewrite motherhood for her. I spent hours sitting with my daughter at the breast. No one told me what I was accomplishing each day was valued. If anything I felt each day ended with failure. I was unable to do things I was accustomed to doing: the house was a mess, laundry divided and multiplied at magical propensities, I was too exhausted and hormonal to show my husband proper affection. And my employer? That was John. He came home and interpreted what my worth was, whether he was aware of it or not.

“Be cautious” says YEC, “know your relationship well and what it can withstand. Make sure you know how you can work together. It will probably help to have a clear decision-making process, whether one person has final say or there’s a team vote ...adapt as your company does.”

When John and I disagreed over things, housework mostly, or the distribution of free time, I was often in tears before I could even relate what I wanted to say. I didn’t trust that our relationship could hold all the heavy things I was feeling. John couldn’t empathize with me. He was easily irritated by my expectations. And often before anything was resolved, I would lose my temper, or John would go to bed mad. Sometimes we didn’t speak afterwards for multiple days.

I didn’t have an opportunity to do anything outside of my role as mother, with the exception of writing cruel sentiments about the angst of wives (hell hath no fury like a wife that has journaled for the past 12 years). On weekends, we hung out as a family, making the most of what the city offered in the form of parks, riverside picnics, and trails. I felt loved by this man that I was still getting to know. He made me laugh, and cry, hard. Our roles seemed so predestined, that I didn’t know I had permission to communicate what wasn’t working for me.

I think that through a lot of it, John assumed things were going well. I wanted a second baby. He had a steady job. Nothing calamitous had happened. I still felt deeply attracted to him, but also hurt that he would never understand how hard it was. He was the one coming home from “work”. He deserved to relax, or ignore us, or take off with friends. The things I did at home all day were possible because he supported us. And therefore they must all be blessings. But they weren’t.

YEC recommends that friends starting a business must be “able to navigate through tough times with honesty and come to an agreement at the end of the day that [both] can fully support”. And as I consume the better part of a day writing this article, the little people left to their devices, I know that this is the best advise of all. It took many years, as opposed to a single day, to know that my emotions and needs are valuable to this whole family. I only hesitate a little as I notify John that dinner time has approached, and I am nowhere near done writing. I’m still learning to own the words I want to say; “Can you please make dinner tonight?” But he hears me. His response is actually just that: “I get what you’re saying.” And twelve years later, the business of marriage with children is a mutual endeavor that John and I have both come to navigate with honesty.

The Alamo was left empty for many years after John moved out. The lack of upkeep made it unlivable. It was torn down several years ago. That old house had served its purpose, a haven for two young people learning about love. We were able to snap some pictures of it, and reminisce about the fundamental parts of our union, before it was gone. Old ways of thinking about marriage are slowly deteriorating too, and should be torn down. It takes time, to trust our instincts, and our partners, and build new homes for new ideas.

-Emily

STAY AT HOME MOTHERHOOD: Resisting the Urge to be a Shut-In.

As far as the eye can see, every tree and rooftop are sheathed in a glistening blanket of snow. The fireplace is aglow and I’m in head to toe fleece, having embraced comfort over fashion, a true Oregonian one year after relocating. My oldest children are in school, and the sweetest toddler on Earth is my homegirl. My husband is in his office, two jobs in, gently pecking away at his keyboard, making it possible for me to be without a formal career. Indigo and I have been hard at it this morning, playing in the snow (well, she mostly ate it), painting, reading, pretending, sipping chai, and singing, and now she’s slumbering upstairs. Coziness abounds in our home. I’m a nurturer by nature and my space reflects that. For me, this life is hygge (Google it), in every sense of the word.

Stay at home motherhood is relatively new to me. Work (hairstylist) forced socialization, up until this year. Often times I found myself overwhelmed, wanting nothing to do with women and conversation by the time the weekend arrived, preventing me from putting much effort into friendships. I’ve curated relationships that don’t require a constant presence or line of communication. Thank God for texting.

But now, here I am, jobless (aside from a few Saturdays per month), and I’m fresh out of excuses for antisocial tendencies.

If I’m being honest with myself, the desire isn’t showing up. Aside from being fiercely independent, my cup runneth over at home. My husband and I have a completely rewarding relationship with great exchanges of ideas and inspiration, and I’m blessed to receive mass quantities of love in the form of snuggles, hugs, and kisses from three mini sugars. I have a sweet little routine going. I’ve managed to, for the first time, find a balance between motherhood and self-care. Stress is almost nonexistent, outside of the sporadic minor meltdown and children waiting until the last minute to get coats and shoes on for school.

I’m afraid to upset the balance, tip things out of my favor by making any changes, even a lunch date evokes despair. I was operating in survival mode before I stopped working, running on adrenaline, and I realize that I was less of a wife and mother by more than I’m comfortable admitting to. I’m desperate to never feel that way again, to not deprive my family of my best version. I have an irrational fear of new commitments, of any kind, because I know my MO- all or nothing.

And, it’s turned me into a virtual shut-in.

I can’t decide what my comfort level is with this.

The sensible part of me acknowledges that women bring different layers of communication and connection than a husband. But, I’m not lonely, not pining for more. And, friendships take effort, time, commitment (eek!)- things I’m tapped out of with children and myself to care for.

I can also recognize that it’s important to have a support system, a tribe (if I’m being on trend). It’s hard to rally the energy to build said tribe in the event of a yet to transpire need.

Writing, reading, researching wellness, practicing spirituality, working on a side business, exercising, and healthy cooking are daily passions for me. Purpose abounds. I don’t feel underwhelmed as a stay at home mom because I fill every crevice of my life with rewarding endeavors. There are not enough hours in the day to pursue my ever-growing interests.

As a mother, my time has become increasingly precious. I must share it sparingly, out of fierce protection of my limited energies. These are going to have to be some pretty stimulating friendships to make them worth it to an already home-body-by-nature mama. I enjoy feminine perspective and sharing, but my inclination is to be fully present and social interactions leave me depleted, no matter how much enjoyment they’ve rendered. Some women are filled up after time with friends, but I know I’m not alone in my sentiment. I do have buds (old and new), but we aren’t up in each other’s business on the reg. I suspect our similar mentalities drew us to one another. And, in an emotional crisis, I could one hundred percent count on them. We just aren’t brunching or meeting up to chat over wine.

This is the current space I reside in. I don’t have an answer. Maybe it resolves itself as your children grow older. Maybe I’m dead wrong for not forcing it upon myself.

I want to hear from other mothers who share my experience and feelings... and from those who don’t. How do you work socialization into your world? What’s your take on finding balance and resisting the urge to be a shut-in?

Talk to me, Mamas.

-Angi

THE HARDEST THING- Our Unique Struggles are Shared Triumphs.

What is the hardest thing that you have ever done? I once tried to answer this question. I think it’s obviously motherhood, but since that is never “done” it feels like a misnomer. There are plenty of hours left that will fluctuate between failure and triumph on this thing that feels like an endurance triathlon. My strength gives out, but I find a hand reaching down to pull me out of waist-deep mud: another competitor in the hardest-thing-you’ve-ever-done race, willing to share my struggle so that we can both make it through another hour.

I attest that this is the heart of all triumph; I am a badass, home-birthing mother of four: couldn’t have done it without my husband, his faith in me, his strength and love: my mother-in-law, supporting my living children so that I could focus on the ones I was pulling from the birth water: my sister, holding my hand as I laboured, representing our shared history, our shared future, validating my heart for all it knows and feels.

Maybe that is the hardest thing we'll ever do; allowing that hand to pull us out of the mud. Or taking command when we recognize there is a loss of offered hands and resorting to shouting from the mud, “Fuck! I’m stuck! I need somebody to pull me out!” How are we to know that anyone will offer a hand? It’s a moral struggle, that inability to thrive in a given situation and that hope that someone has got to give a damn.

Spirituality calls upon an almighty. We were never intended to make it alone. We can’t. We need a savior. If there is not a tangible hand to grasp onto amid the hardest thing you have ever done, you have forgotten god. Usually, a “He” has been there all along but you just had to trust that help would be provided if you went through this third party first. “He” is like a broker that can distribute the goods if you will invest in “Him”.

I think it’s okay to acknowledge this mode of thinking; this belief, and use it to your own advantage. Yes, we are not complete. We are not perfect or able to do it all alone. Here are other humans. Here, even, is a god that looks like a human, to wean you off the idea that you can do it alone. This is Jesus. He is a dude. But look how if you put your faith into fellow humans, you can do hard things! Call it a miracle if you want to, or an example that you can use to love your neighbor, and in doing so, love yourself.

I want to meet “god” or “spirituality” on a two-part exchange. I know the bible says it can’t be done, but maybe that’s open to interpretation. “God” is my neighbor, the one that I have to trust will pull me from my muck. I can no better trust without fear of rejection, that an invisible deity will save me, than a flesh and blood relatable human walking the same earth. I feel more compelled to ask this fallible human, with a face, and a reality that won’t be encrypted in forgotten customs and misinterpreted languages.

The hardest thing I have ever done in this respect is trusted that I can meet god in the eyes of people on this earth. I have lived through abandonment and struggled with self-doubt. I have walked in shoes that I didn’t feel I deserved to fill. I have made the mistake of believing that I was better than other people, lost in a facade where no one could understand my tiny, complicated world. But I experience freedom from all of that when I connect with another person. I trust that life is cruel and wonderful, that every unique person has a story unparalleled and that this life has prepared each of us to assist someone else who is struggling.

Perhaps the hardest thing, before we can cultivate trust in our fellow humans, is the hell of going inside; pulling up that hardship that you faced; using how the cruel world molded you to fit the missing piece of someone’s solace. This is a daily hell because all of us have experienced pain and sadness. I struggle still to offer my hardships as pieces to other’s triumphs. I reflect on a world where terrible things have marred our existence. We are only human, and it is reliable that we will fail to extend that hand, or fail to find the courage to grasp the hand that is extended.

I know that god is in each one of us. If I fail to acknowledge that; If I forget that I am worthy of meeting that god in other people, I will continue trying to do the hardest things on my own, and never succeed. Sharing the struggle is real. And sharing the triumph is the greatest thing I have ever done.

-Emily