Okay, I feel like we've had some rough times here, lately, so I'm compelled to ask again, Why am I here, really?

1) To help --

I have only my own experiences to draw on. "Training", or my lack of it, is just another aspect of experience. I quite definitely have problems of my own. I can't actually do anything, on a web site; just talk. I can't be sure that I've understood what I've heard; I can't be sure that my response is "right"; I can't be sure that even a "right" response will be heard. I control nothing; I can't make the outcome match my intentions, by any means.

But I'll be damned if I'll let what I can't do define what I can. What I can do is listen; feel; and talk. And I won't stop just because sometimes, it doesn't work.

2) To be helped --

To be sure, lately I've not asked for help, directly. But I do blog on a semi-regular basis, and I interact with dozens of people every day that I'm logged on. Sometimes, the interactions hurt. I say the wrong thing fairly often; some of the reasons are listed above. Other people get angry, whether I've done something to deserve it or not. It's remarkably easy to misunderstand each other, in this medium, with results ranging from comical to useless to harmful.

But each and every one of these interactions still contains its lesson, if only I can find it. To be slower to anger; to listen more closely, after finding that what I thought was a clearly articulated response gets misunderstood; to allow myself to ease into step with another person, and to part ways with them again later, just as easily.

We each choose what we bring to this place. We each choose what we take.

So I say, To Life! And let's get on with it.