Do You Have a "Home Team"?


Browsing through Facebook posts this evening I came across this certain text image that made me stop and think. 

For days now I've had the feeling that someone out there somewhere is having a difficult time. Someone I'm connected to, maybe a reader of my blog, one of my pages on Facebook... I'm not sure but I can't shake this feeling.

 And then this evening, I read this:




The automatic assumption of many is that EVERYONE has a "Home Team". It's assumed everyone has a support system to turn to when things get rough. It's a nice idea but unfortunately, it's not true. Not everyone has a home team to turn to. I know because I haven't always had one. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

Maybe they've distanced themselves from friends over the years, maybe they have too much pride to reach out and ask for help. Maybe they're so introverted they really don't have any friends, or maybe they suffer from social anxiety so intense they've secluded themselves and shut everyone out. Maybe they don't even know how to begin piecing together a support system. It happens.

Movies and books often romanticize the loner persona. Honestly, there's nothing romantic about it. Being alone, feeling alone, especially when you need to reach out to someone, when you need someone to just listen or when you need a helping hand, well, it just sucks.

I tried to convince myself for the longest time that I didn't really need anyone but we're social creatures by nature. We might appreciate our alone time but there's that overwhelming instinct to congregate, to find our people, our tribe, our Home Team.

Needing other people isn't a sign of weakness, as some may think, it's simply natural. Don't be afraid to reach out. Of course it takes time to build a support system but there's nothing wrong with taking baby steps, being selective of who you choose to add to your circle. It's definitely a process but I'm glad I decided to take that first step.


No comments:

Post a Comment