The past few days have been hard.

The other day I was curled up into a little ball on the floor, confused and lost because I was unable to find my way in life. I was crying because I was sad, and I was frustrated at my inability to figure things out. Some days are harder than the others, and that day was especially hard.

As I was lying on the floor, I thought of my time as a preschool teacher at a daycare in Maine, about how one day, this little two-year-old girl came running to me, bawling her eyes out. She could not tell me exactly why she was crying; I could not tell if she had hurt herself or if one of her friends had been mean to her.

She was shaking and sobbing with her eyes mostly closed. I put her on my lap and looked at her face and told her, “You’re okay. You’re going to be okay.” As I gently rocked her, trying to comfort her, there was no way for me to know what had really caused her to cry.

After about 10 minutes, she started to calm down and looked at me with tears in her eyes. She was not crying anymore but she was still sad. She was unhappy with what had happened, and she was frustrated because she could explain the cause.

“It’s okay; you’re okay,” I kept telling her, even after she had stopped crying, and she just sat there quietly looking at her little hands.
Even as a little girl, she knew she was okay, but she still needed someone to tell her that she was. She needed a reminder that in her moment of weakness, she had someone there for her.

And that is what we all need sometimes. When we are hurt and crying and feel alone, deep inside, we might know we are okay, but someone else’s kindness makes a difference.

Knowing we have someone we can depend on can change how we view the world.

We all have moments when we feel sad and hurt and alone, and that is when we need a calming voice to tell us that even if we are not doing well now, we will be okay.

When I have challenging days, I get angry and frustrated, but beneath it all is sadness and fear of loss. Our days have been harder, and adjusting to new changes can be tough. We fear for our health and the health of our loved ones. We worry about our financial security. We blame the government and our destiny for how things are.

During these times, it is more important than ever to be kind to each other. It is crucial to be there for one another. If there is ever a time of need, it is now.

As grownups, sometimes it is very difficult to understand each other’s frustrations, the same way I could not understand the little girl’s. I remind you to please take the time to be patient with each other. Sometimes we all need someone to hold us, like I was holding the girl, and tell us that we are going to be okay.

The truth is that we are strong, and we have the ability to make ourselves okay. It is about adapting to what is, rather than holding on to what used to be. We may not realize it, but sometimes we need someone else to tell us what we already know.

We are here to comfort each other through this horrible time. We are here to help each other heal. Because we will heal, we all need a reminder now and then that we are all going to be okay.

The magic and power of those words cannot be undermined, because every time you say, “You’re going to be okay,” you are also telling yourself, “I’m okay; I’m going to be okay.”