Help Your Heart Grow

I turned into my parents' driveway in Maryland and parked the car. Before I could even step out and close the door, Mom flew out of the backyard, gesturing frantically.

"Your father had a breakdown," she blurted. "Your brother took him to the hospital. He's on the sixth floor. Go. Go. You need to go to him right now."

"Wait a second, Mom," I gently asserted. "What happened? What hospital?"

"He didn't eat anything, like he's supposed to. He started flailing himself around, threatening to kill himself. Your brother had to hold him down. Go."

"Okay, Mom." I squeezed her tight. "We'll take care of him."

I remembered earlier that morning how Dad disappeared from the kitchen. I sought him out to say goodbye and found him curled up in a fetal position on his bed.

"Hey, man," I razzed. "Taking a little nappy?"

"Yeah," he mumbled. "I'll be alright."

"Strange answer," I thought to myself as I gave him a kiss and left.

I found Dad on the sixth floor of the Medical Center, sitting in the corner with my brother, Laird. His seeing eye dog lay curled at his feet.

"Hey guys," I smiled. "What's the word?"

"I guess I got kinda' depressed," Dad confessed. "I forgot to put food in my system. I'm alright now."

I looked over at Laird, who shook his head-a telling communication. I'd hear the details later.

"My blood sugar must have really dropped," Dad added.

"Gotta' eat," I empathized.

Diabetes, selling a house, leaving the state of his ancestors after 69 years to move to Florida, learning to cope with blindness-any one of these might trigger a meltdown.

I knew my Dad would resist more than a trifling of professional help.

Too much shame.

Wait a second. Where did the judgment start? Who decreed our superhuman nature? What happened to compassion, for others and ourselves, the soulful cry that recognizes our humanity, faults and shortcomings included, weaknesses acknowledged, differences celebrated?

Does another person's struggle bring us down so much that we teach and preach denial as an alternative?

"Buck up. Tighten your chinstrap. Get a grip."

A grip on what?

We stuff emotions, squelch our feelings and put up false fronts of courage for the sake of appearances. We deny our right to sit with our own suffering and reflect, grieve or cut ourselves any slack.

Like a dormant volcano, our insides churn with prejudice and bias, slanted views painted by others, seldom questioned or examined.

Rampant dis-ease.

When the volcano blows the lava takes the form of cancer, heart attacks, depression and other illness.

What if we poked a few holes in that mountain of pride before it swelled to explosion?

What if we forgave and accepted, praised and lauded our crazy diversity?

Could we release the steam before it gushes and burns?

Try today, at least once to pick a moment and notice someone else's struggle-without mental commentary or your idea of a fix. Reach out without expectation.

Then do the same exercise on yourself.

You, too, deserve untainted appreciation.

Give yourself a break.

Thanks, Dad, for showing us your human side. It helps us love you even more.

That's A View From The Ridge?

About The Author

Author Ridgely Goldsborough invites you to subscribe to The Daily Column, a heart-felt collection of stories that inspire hope and courage. Please do so at www.aviewfromtheridge.com.

www.aviewfromtheridge.com

professional home cleaners Morton Grove ..
In The News:

Cybersecurity experts warn about a ShadowLeak vulnerability that weaponized ChatGPT's Deep Research agent to steal personal data from Gmail accounts through hidden commands.
Tesla's Full Self-Driving system faces federal investigation following 58 reports of crashes, with six vehicles running red lights before colliding with other cars.
The Fox News AI Newsletter brings you the latest developments on artificial intelligence, with news on OpenAI moving to soon allow erotica for adult users.
Eric Schmidt alerts that hackers can reverse-engineer AI models to bypass safety measures, citing examples like the jailbroken ChatGPT variant called DAN.
Cybercriminals exploit Microsoft Teams through impersonation, malicious links and fake profiles to gather intel and deliver ransomware to personal and work devices.
Google, Dior, Allianz and dozens of other companies lost sensitive customer data in Salesforce-related breaches affecting millions of records across multiple sectors.
Apple launches iOS 26 with new Preview app that combines document editing, PDF annotation and scanning features into one streamlined iPhone experience.
New AI road monitoring system uses sensor-embedded fabric to predict infrastructure problems, potentially reducing maintenance costs and traffic disruptions for cities.
Holiday charity scams target retirees through lookalike organization names, untraceable payment requests, and data broker information to steal donations.
The Federal Trade Commission says criminals are posing as IRS agents, law enforcement officers or other officials, often over the phone or online, to steal thousands of dollars at a time.
AI phishing scams now use voice cloning and deepfake technology to trick victims, but Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson reveals warning signs to watch for.
Inversion Space unveils Arc, a reusable reentry vehicle that can deliver up to 500 pounds of cargo from orbit to anywhere on Earth in under an hour.
Red flags like processing fees, urgent countdowns and requests for full Social Security numbers expose fraudulent settlement sites targeting consumers.
Comprehensive analysis of Google Maps, Waze and Apple Maps examines usability, routing accuracy, data handling and features across the top navigation platforms.
Expert analysis reveals whether wired Ethernet or wireless Wi-Fi connections are safer for home internet use, plus practical steps to secure your network from attackers.
Australian construction robot Charlotte uses sand, crushed brick and recycled glass to 3D print fireproof, floodproof homes with reduced carbon footprint.
Cybercriminals are using fake invitation emails to trick recipients into downloading malware and stealing personal information and data.
Flying drones could help retailers fight a 93% increase in theft rates as Flock Safety promotes airborne security systems to track suspects and deter crime.
The Fox News Artificial Intelligence Newsletter brings you the latest news on the emerging technology every Saturday, highlighting top stories.
Hacker group Radiant stole data from 8,000 children at Kido nursery chain, demanding ransom and directly contacting parents with intimidation tactics.
As 18 states implement bell-to-bell cell phone bans, creative students use Google Docs, iMessage on MacBooks and Post-It notes to stay connected in class.
A sheriff's captain says deputies often spend hours writing reports between calls, but Axon's AI program, Draft One, helps them save crucial time in the field.
Sora 2, OpenAI's new video-generation app, can create AI-generated videos based on a singular prompt. The results are both mind-blowing and terrifying.
iPhone and Android users can reduce Wi-Fi calling battery drainage through settings adjustments, background app limits and stronger Wi-Fi connections.
Work email scams are becoming harder to detect as criminals use AI and spoofed addresses to trick employees into opening malicious attachments and links.

Understanding Vegetarianism

Like the Sun, Moon, and Earth, there are three kinds... Read More

The Glycemic Index and Dieting

The field of nutrition is awash with charts, tables, diagrams,... Read More

The Role of Nutrition in Martial Arts, Police, Military Personnel

For a considerable amount of time, nutrition has not played... Read More

What is A Balanced Diet For Losing Weight and Good Health?

The total calories that you should be consuming depend on... Read More

Exposing the Best Source of Protein Myth

An American culture that is marked by a chronic lack... Read More

How to Have Great Sex - Nutrition and Foods That Create Passion

Is the thrill gone? Has the thrill gone out of... Read More

Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple cider vinegar is a product of apple juice fermentation.... Read More

Things You Should Know about Vitamin K?s Unique Power

How well do you know about vitamin K? This vitamin... Read More

You Can Have Healthy Skin

With new research, new products and new skin protection advice... Read More

Preventing Heart Disease: What to Eat

About 12.6 million Americans currently have heart disease.1.1 million Americans... Read More

Eating ... Gaining Weight ... How to Control the Urge to Splurge

I confess: I'm completely addicted to Pringles. My determination weakens... Read More

A Consumers Guide to Soy Terms

Although you may have heard about soy and all of... Read More

Understanding Cholesterol Levels and Decrease the Risk of Heart Attacks and Strokes

What is Cholesterol?Before we go into how to reduce your... Read More

Why are Free Form Essential Amino Acids Necessary and What to Look For!

1. Look for high quality, crystalline, free-form, amino acids (AAs)... Read More

Optimize Your Diet For Maximum Growth

The best weight training and cardio workouts will do very... Read More

Do You Know What You Are Eating?

With all the news about Splenda of late and the... Read More

Food Intolerance

Many people experience unpleasant reactions to foods they have eaten... Read More

Healthy Eating Myths Destroyed

Some of the things you think you know that just... Read More

Your Target of Health is Easy

Many of us, probably even you, want this thing called... Read More

Nutritional Myths that Just Wont Die: Protein!

When it comes to the topic of sports nutrition there... Read More

Beauty Foods That Will Keep You Young and Healthy

You've heard that old saying: True beauty comes from within.... Read More

Take Control of Your Health

In large part, you're in control of your health, not... Read More

Antioxidants and Your Health

Get back to the basics - eat fresh at home... Read More

Cherries - A Natural Joint Pain Killer

Fruit Advantage Tart Cherry capsules are a nutritious, all-natural alternative... Read More

Fighting Fatigue and the American Diner Breakfast

(Part 1 of a Special 5 Part Series on Body... Read More

spring cleaning service Winnetka ..