With a Little Help from My Friends

My big event this past weekend only succeeded because of my friends and family (and in one case a total stranger who volunteered to help for two days!). I had five pairs of hands there for two days just because my family and friends wanted to support me.

This is the power of Social Capital. I help my friends and family and when the chips are down, they do the same for me.

I am so grateful to these people. I saw so much generosity and kindness the past few days, with people who had no interest in my event, other than that it was mine, spending 10 hours or more sitting around at a desk to do cashier duties or lifting heavy boxes to help us load or unload the event.

It is amazing how much that can mean to you, when you are planning an event.

I thought I could handle all of this on my own, but in the end the whole thing never would have happened without the dedication of my volunteer friends and family.

It was humbling to remember the power of friendship and family--and how much of a difference it can make in our lives.

I don't want to ever cut myself off from people. There was a time when I did not have a very large social circle, but I've gone out of my way to meet people and make friends, and this weekend reminded me of the benefits one gets from that. Some of these people became a lifeline for me during a stressful time. True, many of my friends were also remarkably silent and missing from the past few weeks (including some I've had for years), but I'm surprised by how many of my newer friends were there and helped me.

I'm very lucky. Look around you. If you don't have anyone who would volunteer for you, just for the sake of your friendship, it isn't too late to build those relationships. I have built some of these relationships in the past two years, and for that I'm forever grateful.