This morning I had the distinct privilege of watching two women lift each other up. It was really wonderful and such a simple, but powerful, moment.

Two women with kids close in age, playing same sports, both experiencing similar personal challenges…just casual acquaintances on Facebook. One posts lots of quotes/statements relating to her struggle and triumph, and the other comes over and says “thank you for what you post, I’m in a similar situation and I love reading your thoughts” (or similar to that effect). The response is a shared smile and subsequent conversation about how great it feels to reclaim our free will, our independence, our joy…we need to be who we are and have the support of each other!

A few specific things stuck out for me:

• Both women took an emotional, social risk. BRAVO!
• If we don’t lift each other up, then who will?
• Sharing helps. Just sitting there watching the looks on their faces as I listened, I could see the effect.
• You just never know what people are struggling with, so err on the side of kindness and compassion.