It's The Eye of the Tiger

I took a break over Thanksgiving. Lots of family time in New York City and Connecticut, running around, seeing theatre, enjoying life for a bit. Now I'm looking forward to heading home to Indiana over the Christmas holiday. Hopefully, life will start moving forward after that. Even though emotional changes are happening and mental decisions may or may not have been made, physical life is staying the same. Thankfully, I have a few people in my corner, cheering me on.

Support is always important. It can manifest itself in many ways, some constant and reliable and other surprising and out of the blue. You may say you don't need the support, you can do it on your own, but you still need it. Deep down, you know that it's true. It can be the physical support you still need after decisions are made. If it's a career change, how are you going to support yourself while you are working on a new career path? How are you going to pay for rent, insurance, transportation, food and water? How will you encourage yourself to continue on down this new direction after the excitement has worn off and the "Oh shit! What have I done? Quick, change it back!" doubts kick in? It's always nice to have a partner to rely on for those financial necessities and mental breakdowns. But what if you don't have a partner? What if you feel like you are alone in what you are trying to do?

I know, it's silly. We are never truly alone. But it often feels that way. You try to talk to someone, let them know what you are feeling, and they respond in a way that seems like they don't understand what you are trying to say or how you are feeling. You say it a different way, and they still don't understand. So you mentally go it solo. You stop sharing because it's the same every time you do. You start feeling like this alien creature in this human body that no one has the capacity to comprehend. Your human skin becomes your protection and your prison. Not as fun as it sounds. Just ask Sigourney Weaver.

It is really nice to have at least one person in your corner. One person who, even if they don't understand what you are saying, will say, "Okay. You do what you need to do. I'm here for you.". Or having that one person with whom you can commiserate. That's all we need, sometimes. Someone to listen, to forget about how it might impact them, and say, "Woah! That's a bummer!" or "Wow! How exciting!" or "Hey! Good for you!!!". Don't try to fix it - it's not yours to fix. Sometimes, it's just yours to listen and cheer us on.

That's all we need. Our own Mickey Goldmill.