WHEN YOU FALL OVER I FALL OVER

I love this Chinese Buddhist story of Layman Pang, the basket weaver and his daughter, Lingzhao

They were on the road, selling bamboo baskets. On a bridge, Layman Pang stumbled and fell. Lingzhao flung herself to the ground next to him.

"What are you doing?" Layman Pang asked.

"I'm helping!" she replied.

"Good job no one is watching!" he said, laughing.

How is falling down next to him helping?

How could it not be?

How can we really know what someone needs if we don't really understand what's happened?

And perhaps more importantly, as I see over and over in my therapy practice, is that the thing most often needed is not to be alone in the midst of your troubles.

Photo by Quang Nguyen Vinh, via Pexels.