I appreciate these reflections, and will just add that we also do need to be mindful of the fact that asking for help and receiving help *can* create an opening for manipulative and predatory people to "hook" you. Sadly, I have experienced this numerous times. This advice is good when you're dealing with people will have integrity and humanity. In any event, enjoy your break!!
I hear you, and thanks for highlighting this Elizabeth — not everyone offers help in good faith, and not every act of care is what it seems. Like you I’ve had to learn that discernment is a form of self-protection — not cynicism, but wisdom earned through experience. But those experiences, as painful as they were, taught me a great deal about boundaries, intuition, and the subtle signals we often overlook. So while I wouldn’t wish them on anyone, I also wouldn’t give back what they taught me. There’s real strength in learning how to stay open and discerning — to recognise when care is genuine, and when it’s a mask for control.
Thank you so much JP4M — that means a great deal. I’m enjoying letting things settle a bit and look forward to coming back with a clearer head and steady heart. Wishing you some peace and gentleness too, wherever you are and however you're navigating these days.
That sounds like a beautiful and deeply grounding way to have spent the day, Martha — both to remember, and to sit with others in the kind of silence that holds so much. I'm touched that this piece spoke to your condition and hope that the time in the park brought you presence, stillness, and quiet strength.
Ah, thank you Dr SeeLou, I really appreciate you naming that. It’s easy to talk about trust as a concept but far harder to practice it, especially now. I’ve noticed that I’ll gladly offer support, but I hesitate to receive it, like it’s safer to give than to need. So I wanted to write about rebuilding trust — not through grand gestures, but through the everyday courage of letting care go both ways.
Thank you Mimi — that means a lot. I’m just realising how much discipline it takes to actually rest, especially when so much is still unfolding! But naming it, and holding myself to it — or trying to! — feels like a way of resisting the pressure to be endlessly available. I hope you’ve also found small ways to rest lately Mimi, even if just for a few moments.
As usual, an appeal to all that is positive and humane, and arrived at with an appeal to reason. Kindrid spirits should unite here to the exclusion of trolls. Gotta luv ya!
That brought a real smile, thank you. I’m so glad the tone came through as intended: grounded in reason, but still holding space for what’s most human in us. And yes, Carleton, here’s to kindred spirits finding each other and holding the line together. It's what makes all the difference.
I appreciate these reflections, and will just add that we also do need to be mindful of the fact that asking for help and receiving help *can* create an opening for manipulative and predatory people to "hook" you. Sadly, I have experienced this numerous times. This advice is good when you're dealing with people will have integrity and humanity. In any event, enjoy your break!!
I hear you, and thanks for highlighting this Elizabeth — not everyone offers help in good faith, and not every act of care is what it seems. Like you I’ve had to learn that discernment is a form of self-protection — not cynicism, but wisdom earned through experience. But those experiences, as painful as they were, taught me a great deal about boundaries, intuition, and the subtle signals we often overlook. So while I wouldn’t wish them on anyone, I also wouldn’t give back what they taught me. There’s real strength in learning how to stay open and discerning — to recognise when care is genuine, and when it’s a mask for control.
Me too.
See my Comment at the bottom of the Kelly Hayes article, "Not a Distraction: Epstein, Impunity, and the Rot at the Core," at:
https://organizingmythoughts.org/not-a-distraction-epstein-elite-impuni
Thank you for your beautiful, valuable message. Best wishes to you for a lovely break and good, happy rest.
Thank you so much JP4M — that means a great deal. I’m enjoying letting things settle a bit and look forward to coming back with a clearer head and steady heart. Wishing you some peace and gentleness too, wherever you are and however you're navigating these days.
kairos again. thanks for this. it speaks to my condition. in a bit I'm going to the park to sit with the Quakers remembering Hiroshima.
That sounds like a beautiful and deeply grounding way to have spent the day, Martha — both to remember, and to sit with others in the kind of silence that holds so much. I'm touched that this piece spoke to your condition and hope that the time in the park brought you presence, stillness, and quiet strength.
Always at the right time. Was just talking about trust yesterday. I love how you highlight the value of both giving and receiving.
Ah, thank you Dr SeeLou, I really appreciate you naming that. It’s easy to talk about trust as a concept but far harder to practice it, especially now. I’ve noticed that I’ll gladly offer support, but I hesitate to receive it, like it’s safer to give than to need. So I wanted to write about rebuilding trust — not through grand gestures, but through the everyday courage of letting care go both ways.
Great post as always, Lori, with really valuable advice!
Thank you David. ☺️
Thank you for these words of encouragement to trust. I needed that. Hope you have a refreshing August!
Thank you so much Teresa. And I'm so glad to have given you just what you needed before I left.
Lovely post. Glad you're getting some rest.
Thank you Mimi — that means a lot. I’m just realising how much discipline it takes to actually rest, especially when so much is still unfolding! But naming it, and holding myself to it — or trying to! — feels like a way of resisting the pressure to be endlessly available. I hope you’ve also found small ways to rest lately Mimi, even if just for a few moments.
Timely, thoughtful, welcome, and refreshing.
Thank you for receiving it with such warmth, Susan.
As usual, an appeal to all that is positive and humane, and arrived at with an appeal to reason. Kindrid spirits should unite here to the exclusion of trolls. Gotta luv ya!
Indeed, Carleton!
I'm also glad to know Substack (in general) as the place I have yet to see the word "awesome"!
Well, until now...
Ha! Yes — I’m with you in appreciating the kind of conversation that happens here. And at least “awesome” made an appearance with a wink.
Thank you F&C.
That brought a real smile, thank you. I’m so glad the tone came through as intended: grounded in reason, but still holding space for what’s most human in us. And yes, Carleton, here’s to kindred spirits finding each other and holding the line together. It's what makes all the difference.