Be a Lifeboat!
Life gets unbelievably hard at times, so I’ll try to tread lightly on this message. I understand that right now I’m in a really good place, and it’s easy for me to tell others to count their blessings and to be content with what they have. Basically, what I want to encourage is a spirit of generosity.
As I write this, America is a first-world country. A first-world country with a lot of problems, that is. And this nation will go the way that all great empires in history have gone: its glory will continue to fade — perhaps slowly, perhaps suddenly — until we no longer recognize it as the America we grew up in, which, for me, has already happened and will only worsen.
Having said that, we can either choose to fight amongst ourselves, or we can be grateful for what we have as this ship goes down. I’m not asking you to rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic knowing that we’ve hit the iceberg. I’m asking you to be somebody’s lifeboat.
Being someone’s lifeboat starts with recognizing what you have. You have tools to help people. Those tools don’t have to cost anything. If you can’t afford to give of your time, money, or other resources because you don’t have any of those things to spare, you can always give the following gifts:
Lend a listening ear to someone who needs to talk about his or her problems. (Hint: Everyone has problems.)
Work hard because working hard will make you feel good while bringing honor to your employer and modeling behavior that increases the morale of other employees.
Be so content with what God has given you that your gratefulness creates a positive attitude that you can use to uplift those around you. (If you think you don’t have anything to be grateful for, be grateful that God is always with you.)
Make someone laugh. If you don’t know any jokes, stare at someone with your eyes crossed, or cram a bunch of lettuce in your mouth, open up wide, and ask, “Do I have anything in my teeth?” (Just be your silly self, whatever that looks like, and don’t care about what people think.)
Watch what you say. The tongue is the most powerful part of the body. Focus on encouraging and complimenting, not complaining or gossiping.
If you don’t know what to say, ask questions out of a sincere desire to get to know people better. Just practice boundaries, and try not to go too deep too soon. Relationships take time.
Take time to reflect on your thoughts, actions, and interactions. Growing in self-awareness will help you be a safer lifeboat. Don’t be hard on yourself, just try to notice what you did well and what you can improve tomorrow.
Don’t be scared. This world needs you to be you, not a knockoff version of someone else, even if that means you have to experience loneliness for a little while until you find your tribe. Often times, most other people are the ones rearranging the deck chairs as the ship goes down anyway.
Don’t feel like you’re behind in life because you need someone to tell you the things on this list. I did not write them because I’m wise; I wrote them because I had to learn them the hard way and am still learning some of them. We all have many things to learn. Learning is a lifelong process. I’m not saying that you have to perform all these things all the time to be a good lifeboat. Find one or two that you think you could be really good at and start there.
“ATTENTION: This is your captain speaking. It looks like we’re going to need more lifeboats.”
Photo Credit: https://www.pigeonforgetncabins.com/a-hands-on-experience-at-the-titanic/