The courage to ask for help

My greatest lesson so far in being a writer is that it is essential to be brave. More directly, it's a non-negotiable aspect of living a creative life that you have to be brave enough to ask for help, whatever that looks like in your time of need. There are quite a few people who have way too much pride to admit they might have to rely on someone else for something. I am not one of those people. I'm not above teamwork to make that difficulty pass as quickly as possible so we can get to the good stuff. In the wise words of Ringo Starr, "I get by with a little help from my friends." Still, I didn't realize how much of being a writer involve taking massive leaps and trusting something will eventually catch you.

So far, I have asked for help from a historical society (no response), a woman who has been dead for 160 years (possible response, I'm not equipped to qualify this one), my cousin with a knack for finding things online (best response ever), and an online magazine (highly exciting response.) I have asked for help when I saw the need for it and it has paid off in one way or another every single time. Even being told "no" is still helpful. It's like The Universe is asking "How much do you want this?" The grit and resilience learned in those situations is only available to those who look at the oncoming shit-storm and say "Let me show you how much." That, my friends, takes courage.

There's a fine line, however, between courage and stupidity, and I'm realizing that being a writer means being willing to continually tap-dance all over that tiny boundary. Last night, I spent a great deal of time looking up books on Amazon and Goodreads on the topic of spiritualism. Of all of the books I came across that fit my need, only one was available to me at a reasonable price, and it was on the town of Lily Dale, New York. I just kept thinking "There is a better way." So, realizing I needed help, I did the obvious thing: I asked for it. An hour later, I had emailed a medium living in Lily Dale, explaining about my novel and asking her for help making the spiritualist aspects realistic. It was a (very) long shot, but I put out there that I needed help and I hoped for the best.

This afternoon, she replied that she is willing to help me with whatever I need. Let me say that again because I hardly believe it myself. I now have a Lily Dale medium who has answered my call for help to write this novel. I can't yet find the words to express my gratitude. I'm speechless. I'm verklempt.

Hey, listen. I'm not the most spiritual person out there, but I believe in energy and I believe that we're surrounded by cosmic magic that makes up The Universe. We are a part of something much bigger than we are, but we're a part of it nonetheless. Whatever that magical cosmic goo is, it is abundant; all we have to do is go get it. If you're brave enough to ask, Something Awesome is going to supply what you need. It may not be what you want, necessarily, but it will always be what you need.

Elizabeth Gilbert recently said in one of her Magic Lessons podcast episodes that the interviewee "summoned" her, and that was proof of how powerful she could be when she put her mind to something. Now, I don't know what I have to burn at which crossroads to summon Liz Gilbert, but I do know the price you have to pay to live a creative life is vulnerability. You have to be willing to ask, knowing that you're putting yourself out there to the whole world to potentially be chewed up and spit back out. That requires bravery, and it requires humility. "I have to do this, but I can't do it alone. Will you help me?" Ask for help, and trust that your needs will be met.