Today’s task:
Accept help from others
Today I found myself using a cigarette to heat the end of a pair of tweezers, sitting out front of a fast food joint as I attempted to scare a tick out of my foot. Or at least what I thought was a tick.
I feel like everything that happened after 5:30 p.m. comes straight out of a sitcom.
Foreigner gets tick in foot. Asks for directions from the lady at the front desk of her hostel to find the nearest pharmacy (that’s open). Gets reprimanded for not wearing a mask because apparently the government is now fining people who don’t. Receives advice about the ‘casero’ (homemade) way of getting a tick out through heat….
And accepts a cigarrillo from the kind man behind the counter, hops next door to find a pair of matches, has no success in lighting the cigarette, and then the woman at the fast food joint takes pity on her, going to find an actual lighter. The foreigner strikes up a conversation with the lady at the fast food joint, asking her questions about where she’s from, and suggests that perhaps it’s actually just an allergic reaction, and there is in fact no tick there.
After many failed attempts at getting the tweezer to heat up, the woman offers to touch the foreigner’s foot, verifying whether she believes there’s actually a tick there. No way, she says. I don’t think that’s a tick. Can’t you go to the hospital? She asks.
Nah, my insurance doesn’t cover shit outside the U.S. But oh well. Let’s hope this is just a bite and call it good for today.
This is literally my life. I felt like I was laughing the whole time. It’s quite fun to make jokes with strangers. I got to come back to the hostel and laugh some more with the receptionist.
Later, I decided to go see some live music at a jazz café in San José. I reserved a table for two, but didn’t have any luck in recruiting someone from the hostel to come with me. So I think I’m just going to have to go it alone and make the best of the situation. I will say, I have a feeling there’s not going to be a lot of people there, since they required reservations via SINPE, which you can only have if you possess a local bank account.
Anyways, let’s get back to business with today’s task, which is to accept help from others.
I want to start this out by saying that there will always be people who try to take advantage of you. A lot of that has to do with how you hold yourself, where you are, what you’re wearing, the confidence in your stride, etc. Having a certain level of consciousness around this is clave.
And sometimes you just have to have faith in people. Today, in my meanderings to the pharmacy, the corner store, and the fast food joint, I gave many people the opportunity to help me. And I believe that my Spanish language skills are a key element that allowed people to take me seriously, not take advantage of me.
I knew what I needed and I asked for it, and while I was indeed laughing a good chunk of the time, so were they. It was a convivial moment and I’m grateful for the help and the kindness of strangers.
When it comes to finances, don’t wait to ask for help.
Know that there are thousands of people just like you who are struggling, who are embarrassed by their current situation, who are asking themselves how they got to the current point they are at in their lives, and who are afraid of what people will think if they admit that they need help.
There’s a powerful energy that you create when you decide to take responsibility for your future. It’s like you’re signaling to the universe that you’re ready for change, and you’re open to whatever may come your way to get in the right direction.
To pull in some elements from manifestation here, we could think about connecting to the feeling of gratitude of receiving help, in whatever form it takes. Or whatever feeling you might have when you’ve connected with the assistance that you are looking for. Don’t worry so much about the details of what that assistance looks like, or where it will come from…the universe is taking care of you and knows what you need, even if you don’t.
Let go, relax, meditate, lean into enjoying the present, and trust that you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.
Today’s exercise:
- Write down what you need help with
- Write down all the places you know of where you could find the resources you need, including the people who might be willing to help
- Tell everyone around you what you’re looking for
- Take some time to meditate on the feeling of what it’s like to have your problem resolved
- Do something fun to celebrate the present moment! Find something to be grateful for.
