Standing on solid ground

Have you ever seen the email where a giraffe is slowing sinking in quicksand and he runs through a few different emotions? He goes from politely asking for some help, to begging, to anger, to tears and then to pure helplessness and giving up. Just as he gives up, he realizes that he has hit the bottom of the quicksand pit and that there was hope all along. This is where the email ends.

I laughed at this cartoon and then came to understand that there is truth to be found. We all have our quicksand pits. When we hit them, most of us are at first shocked and look around to see if anyone notices, but mostly out of fear that they might actually noticed and quite embarrassed that we have placed ourselves in this predicament.

After a while we realize that we truly are in a little trouble that maybe we can’t get out of by ourselves. That is when we look around and maybe hint to those that are close to us that we just might need a hand.

Panic kicks in. We begin to thrash around, looking for anyone and anything that we perceive would be helpful, even if logically we know that it would end up landing us in another, larger quicksand pit. The ironic part being that there are yet others near by fighting to help us out. Yet because their way cause some pain and takes time and due to the danger of falling into the pit with us rather than helping to pull us out, have to choose to keep their distance which sometimes causes us to pull away and not believe that they are truly there to help us.

Anger, tears, frustration and sometimes just plain feeling picked on is the next step. This doesn’t usually last very long until we go into feeling helpless and hopeless. There is nothing that we can do. There is nothing that those around us can do. At least that is how we feel. Things then just don’t matter anymore. We stop fighting, we stop caring. We make decisions that will hopefully sink us fast just wanting to get it over with already, take away the feelings and let the whole world know that we aren’t worth saving.

Isn’t it amazing that every time we get to this point that right before our heads go under, that our feet hit the bottom? The problem is not gone. We are still up to our necks with no idea on how to, or even if it is possible, to get ourselves out of this pit which seemingly has taken over. Are there ways out? The answer to that is simple, always. More importantly, looking around we realize that there are still certain people that haven’t given up on us as we have ourselves and continue to love us. That is empowering.