Home
>
Nutrition
>
Help Your Heart Grow

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

expert residential cleaners Park Ridge ..

In The News:

The Omoway Omo X features a modular design, obstacle detection and emergency braking, and can drive itself to charging stations, signaling the future of smart urban mobility.

PillTrek, a tiny wireless smart capsule created by Caltech, provides real-time gut health data by detecting electrolytes, metabolites, glucose, hormones, pH levels and temperature.

Learn to spot fake bank text messages with five warning signs of Chase phishing scams, including suspicious links and urgent deadlines designed to steal your account information.

Robot coyotes built on motorized cars reaching 20 mph are being deployed at military airfields as an innovative solution to wildlife threats to aircraft safety.

Explore Google Drive's strengths and weaknesses as a backup solution, including its encryption security, privacy concerns and comparison to dedicated backup tools.

As environmental challenges grow, underwater habitats gain momentum with DEEP's Vanguard, supporting short missions and Sentinel designed for 28-day stays at depth.

The new Urban Eyes safety vest features dual cameras, reflective panels and a wireless remote to deter harassers and provide peace of mind for outdoor workouts.

The $200 billion data broker industry tracks your personal details across websites, posing privacy risks that can be mitigated through data removal services.

UCC Holding has teamed up with COBOD to create desert-inspired, 3D-printed schools in Qatar, featuring dune-like wavy walls impossible with conventional construction.

Darkling beetles equipped with microchip backpacks can be guided through disaster areas using electrical signals, offering a biological solution for search and rescue.

Scammers use number porting to take control of outdated landlines still connected to financial accounts, bypassing two-factor authentication to steal funds while avoiding detection.

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey developed Bitchat, a privacy-focused messaging app that works offline via Bluetooth without requiring email, phone numbers or personal data.

Google is making a push to ensure its AI, Gemini, is tightly integrated with Android systems by granting it access to core apps like WhatsApp, Messages, and Phone.

A new green energy system is set to change how we capture clean power, and it all starts with the ocean. French startup Seaturns has designed technology that taps into the natural motion of the sea.

Cybersecurity researchers are warning that hackers have started exploiting flaws in chatbots to carry out AI phishing attacks.

Google has just made it easier than ever to regain control of your inbox with Gmail's new Manage Subscriptions tool.

Despite the benefits, residential power saver programs come with several potential drawbacks and concerns that have been raised by both customers and experts.

The Blackdot AI tattoo machine is quiet. It's steady. And according to early users, it hurts a lot less.

Attackers have started to exploit the very signals that users assume will keep them safe when it comes to add-ons to improve productivity or entertainment.

Located on Cerro Pachón in Chile, the world's most powerful digital camera is set to transform how we see the universe.

The innovative DQ Tower stands 28 feet tall with 420 square feet of living space, featuring floor-to-ceiling windows and premium amenities in a prefabricated design.

A new mmWave imaging system allows warehouse robots to scan and create 3D models of objects inside sealed containers, potentially revolutionizing shipping processes.

Family fraud endangers seniors when relatives exploit their trust, but removing personal data online and monitoring identity can prevent financial harm to aging parents.

A study analyzing 500,000 customer service interactions shows chatbots struggle with complex issues while human agents excel at matching customer communication styles.

Aigen's Element robot uses solar power and AI to provide farmers with a sustainable alternative to herbicides, working efficiently in cotton and soy fields.

Help Your Heart Grow

Nutrition