Pillars

September 7th, 2024

We all know those people -- the ones who practically support everyone and everything around them and they seem to do it gracefully, without hesitation, without expectation of anything in return -- without condition.

Those that people seem drawn to -- for advice, for a strategy, for just an ear (or two) -- magnetic, charismatic.

Those people who seem to have this never-ending bandwidth to absorb the challenges of everyone around them, to support them, and to make the problems of others theirs.  Much like an altruism -- or at its extreme, martyrdom?   

The ones with unassuming thoughtfulness -- maybe they give you a book you told them you had been meaning to read, they remember to reach out to you on your birthday, or they find a snack in the grocery store you said you loved and bring it back for the next time they see you.  It is often you before them -- on occasion, it may seem like always.

You can call them at any hour of the night -- because you're just not doing well, you have a random question, or a hilarious thing happened to you on the way home from work and you can't think of anyone else you would want to share this with at this very moment.  

How do these people come to be?

Sometimes, I wonder if they had always been this way.

Perhaps behaviors borne out of lessons trickled down from their parent-figures over years, decades of growth.  I think, superficially, these appear to be great qualities and I know I rely on many people in my life I would describe as such.  

But sometimes, I wonder if we take advantage of their kindness.  Take them for granted.

Pillars can be made of a lot of things and regardless of what resides at their core, they hold up the structures, buildings, and communities above them.

But these bastions of support are only as good as the foundation they lie on.

So...what supports the pillars?