Comments on: Speak for Yourself https://livingwithscleroderma.com/speak-for-yourself/ Reflections on the Messy Complexity of Chronicity Tue, 30 Aug 2016 01:14:22 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.4 By: Evelyn Herwitz https://livingwithscleroderma.com/speak-for-yourself/#comment-55638 Tue, 30 Aug 2016 01:14:22 +0000 http://www.livingwithscleroderma.com/?p=4036#comment-55638 In reply to Pat Bizzell.

Agreed, 100 percent, Pat. Thanks for your thoughtful comment.

]]> By: Pat Bizzell https://livingwithscleroderma.com/speak-for-yourself/#comment-55542 Tue, 23 Aug 2016 15:23:51 +0000 http://www.livingwithscleroderma.com/?p=4036#comment-55542 A moving post, Ev. I can’t help but feel that the discomfort a person might experience in asking for help arises from the extreme individualism of our society. Our favorite hero is the lone hero, who accomplishes miracles all by himself (and I choose the pronoun’s gender deliberately). Seldom do we encounter a hero in popular culture who inspires admiration through his or her ability to bond a group in an endeavor for the common good. An exception to this observation might be found in sports movies, in which a heroic coach (oops–so there is a stand-out individual there) bonds a disparate group together into a winning team. We love those movies, too, maybe because we crave the experience of being part of a group in which every member helps every other member willingly.

Consider, too, how very good you feel when someone asks you for help and you are able to give it–I’m thinking of little moments like seeing that the person ahead of you has his arms full of packages so you hold the door for him, or realizing that the person trying to boost her carry-on into the overhead needs an extra push. Extreme individualism can be exhausting!

]]>