Like many in the world, I am struggling with my mental health right now. Everything is so heavy. I know so many people who are struggling. Some for reasons just like me, some for other reasons. I have learned the importance of letting those around you know how to be there for you. We all have different love languages, I think the same can be said for how we grieve. We all have different grief languages. The way we need to be comforted when we are grieving or struggling is not the same as our partner, our coworker, our friends. Those around us might not know how to best be there for us when we need it.

It is hard for me to articulate how to best be there for me because I don’t know for sure. I was thinking about it last night. What do I need? Do I need a rock? When I think of being someone’s rock I think about being strong, steady and unmoving. Letting all of the waves of grief rush against it but the rock stays in place, unwavering in their support. Being the person that someone can dump all of their grief on. Rocks can take it. There are times that I need a rock. For me, I need a rock during times of utter sadness. Death of a loved one, divorce, loss of friends, jobs, memories. I am sure those things vary person to person. I am sure there are things I haven’t experienced yet that I will need a solid rock for.

This had me thinking about what other kinds of support I might need. I have no idea why, but a tree immediately came to my mind. I know, I know…rocks are what you typically think of when you think of supporting someone. Think about it, rocks are typically thought of because they are strong. Trees are strong. Some might say, stronger than rocks?

When I am overwhelmed with life and feel like I am drowning with the heaviness of the world I want to know that I am not alone. Maybe I am way off base but I want to know that others are overwhelmed too that it is not just me. I want a tree beside me for support. Trees are tall and strong. They have deep roots to help hold them up. I need the extra shade a tree provide when the rain is falling harder than usual, I need the sway of the trunk to move with me through the storm, I need to see the branches break showing me that I am not the only one who can’t weather the storm whole. I need those broken branches to hold me up when the water keeps rising. I need to see the regrowth from storms the trees have weathered before, to know that the pieces of me that feel broken right now won’t be broken forever. That I will heal. I need to know that I am not alone.

Rocks, they survive relatively unscathed. Trees, however, are living beings. They grow, they bleed, they heal and they never stop giving. They adapt to their surroundings, they are undeterred in growing all so Earth can have the oxygen to support life. Trees swallow rocks. When I am at my lowest, I want to be surrounded by people who emulate everything trees stand for.