I have a confession to make. It’s taken me a while to come to realize this and once I did it was like a lightbulb went off in my head. I am my brother’s keeper. I’m not thinking of anyone in particular when I say brother. In fact, I have many brothers; a twin brother, older brother, fraternity brothers, three brothers in law, and close friends who I consider to be brothers. None of them are superhuman, although one thought he was.
He was a guy I knew in college who, on Halloween, dressed up as Superman. I mean, this guy went all out to purchase an authentic costume complete with blue spandex, tight red briefs (I mean really tight—not much was left to the imagination), and, of course, a cape. Capping off the look, though, was a broken foot. Imagine that, Superman on crutches—the man of steel not so invincible after all! This guy though, played it to his advantage—the girls went wild for a broken Superman. He had a girl on either arm that night if memory serves.
But you know what, Superman isn’t real. While Clark Kent’s alter ego could take the weight of humanity on his shoulders and use his superhuman strength to save us from the bad guys, that’s not real life. I can only speak from a guy’s perspective, but we grow up thinking we can be superhuman. That we should be strong enough not to get crushed by the weights that pile on top of us including but not limited to; pressures from work, the stresses of family life, unrealistic expectations we set for ourselves, and general stresses of daily life—no one can take that that all and not crack a little. Seeking help is not a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of bravery. Certainly nothing to be ashamed of.
So, I am going on record right now—if you find yourself being crushed by the weights on your shoulders, I am here for you. I will do whatever I can to get you help, to help you heal, and to be someone to talk to. I will not judge you. I am, and always will be, my brother’s keeper.
Years ago, I spent a lot of time looking for evidence of faith in the culture at large and posting reflections on deeper meanings I found in popular music. I am resurrecting that tonight and will end this post with the lyrics of a song I fell in love with in the 90’s – Hold My Hand by Hootie and the Blowfish. This song speaks to me on many levels tonight, perhaps it speaks to you as well. Comments always welcome:
Hold My Hand
Songwriters: Darius Rucker / Dean Felber / Jim Sonefeld / Mark Bryan
With a little love and some tenderness
We’ll walk upon the water
We’ll rise above the mess
With a little peace and some harmony
We’ll take the world together
We’ll take them by the hand
‘Cause I’ve got a hand for you, oh
‘Cause I wanna run with you
Yesterday, I saw you standing there
Your head was down, your eyes were red
No comb had touched your hair
I said, get up, and let me see you smile
We’ll take a walk together
Walk the road awhile, ’cause
‘Cause I’ve got a hand for you
I’ve got a hand for you
‘Cause I wanna run with you
Won’t you let me run with you, yeah
Want you to hold my hand
(Hold my hand)
I’ll take you to a place
Where you can be
(Hold my hand)
Anything you wanna be because
I wanna love you the best that
The best that I can
See I was wasted, and I was wasting time
‘Til I thought about your problems
I thought about your crimes
Then I stood up, and then I screamed aloud
I don’t wanna be part of your problems
Don’t wanna be part of your crowd, no
‘Cause I’ve got a hand for you
I’ve got a hand for you
‘Cause I wanna run with you
Won’t you let me run with you
Want you to hold my hand
(Hold my hand)
I’ll take you to the promised land
(Hold my hand)
Maybe we can’t change the world but
I wanna love you the best that
The best that I can, yeah
Let me walk, oh won’t you let me, let me
(Hold my hand)
Want you to hold my hand
(Hold my hand)
I’ll take you to a place where you can be
(Hold my hand)
Anything you wanna be because
I oh no, no, no, no, no
(Hold my hand)
Want you to hold my hand
(Hold my hand)
I’ll take you to the promised land
(Hold my hand)
Maybe we can’t change the world but
I wanna love you the best that
The best that I can
Oh, best that I can
