Interdependence
There is nothing noble about isolation. It starves the very parts of us that were made for belonging
Recently I had an experience that gave me pause.
When I reflected on it, I was struck by how close I had been to choosing isolation again, how my instinct was still to power through when everything in me was asking – begging – me to reach out for help. It’s crazy that we spend so much of our lives pretending we’re made of steel, when in truth, we are stitched together by moments where someone else’s voice steadies us, reminds us we’re human, reminds us we’re loved even though we might feel broken, reminds us that everything is going to be fine.
That experience was a much-needed reminder that sometimes the strongest thing you can do is say, I need help. And sometimes the most healing thing is realizing that help is already waiting…you just have to let it in.
I believe that there is a quiet power in interdependence, the kind of power born when we stop pretending that we’re self-sufficient islands and admit how deeply we need one another. We are made to lean into each other, not because we are weak, but because collaboration, connection, and vulnerability are woven into the very fabric of who we are. For me, this is what it means to be human.
We live in a world that glorifies rugged individualism, where doing it all alone becomes a badge of honor. But that story is incomplete and unnecessary. When we isolate ourselves, we deprive not only ourselves but those around us of the sacred gift of shared struggle, shared joy, and shared purpose. To truly live, we must turn toward each other, not away.
When we accept our vulnerability, when we allow ourselves to be seen in our mess, our fears, our longings, we unleash something beautiful. That admission is never weakness. It’s courage. It’s a recognition that no one has to walk this journey alone. Our cracks, our uncertainties, our mistakes, they are not defects. They are openings, places where others can reach in and touch us, where empathy can flow, and where healing begins.
Very often, I think about my parents who sometimes had to lean on family and friends to raise us, and about my friends who patiently stay on the phone, listening to me, holding space without judgement. These are not incidental moments; they are profound reminders that we are stronger together. When we trust someone enough to share our burden, we give them the opportunity to do exactly what they were made to do, which is to support, lift and encourage us.
We were never meant to go it alone. Our greatest achievements, our most meaningful growth, come when we build together. It takes two hands, ten fingers, many hearts. We were not made to hoard our lives like treasure on an island. We were made to pass it around, to build bridges, to lean in.
In interdependence, we find belonging. In leaning on others, we find purpose. In trusting in our real, messy selves, we find grace. For those who seek it, there is redemption in authentic human connection. When we let people in, not just to our successes but to our doubts and disappointments, we invite the kind of love that changes us, sustains us, refines us.
So, discard the lie that you must go it alone. You don’t have to carry everything. Your struggle is not a burden to hide, but a gift to share. Let others support you, and let yourself support them. Ask for help. Offer help. Build something together. Because when we lean into our shared humanity, when we stop denying how much we need each other, we tap into a greater strength than any of us can summon on our own.
Embrace that interdependence. Let it shape how you live. Let it heal how you love. And let it remind you every single day that you are never alone in this journey called life.