As if sensing my confusion, the spiritual director added
that too often when we sit in our chairs we hold up our own weight rather than
letting the chairs fully support us. We let our bodies take on more work than
necessary, because consciously or unconsciously we feel like they should. One
of the major lessons of the exercise was to remind us to accept support for our
bodies when it is given.
Over the past couple of months, I have been learning that
the lesson from that exercise applies to far more than simply how I sit in my
chair. Just as I have a tendency to hold my own weight even when a chair is
provided, I also have a tendency to try to completely support myself even when
help is all around me. I struggle to accept support from other people, because
I feel like I shouldn’t need help from anyone or else I will become a burden.
But just as people have provided chairs in order that my body might be supported,
God has provided me with a multitude of friends, colleagues, and acquaintances
in order that the rest of me might be supported as well. And as I have
repeatedly found myself in situations during my post-college transition in
which I need support, it is has been a helpful lesson to learn to be more
accepting of the support offered to me.
It has been valuable to be reminded at work, at home, and in
the community that it is okay to need to lean on someone else. It is okay to have
to ask for help. It is okay to let yourself be held up by your chair and by
those around you.
- Angelique Gravely
