It seems appropriate on the same day we’ve been discussing aging in place to talk about how it’s ok to ask for help. There’s a very special short film out right now, based on a very special best selling book, by Charlie Mackesy called, “The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse.” Tina and I watched it on Wednesday night with our granddaughter Olivia and we were all so touched by it. I earnestly encouraged you to find it and watch it too. It’s beautifully, artfully animated, and it’s only 34 minutes long, so it won’t ask for too much of your time. But in that brief time it communicates so many important messages. The story begins with three words. The boy simply says, “I am lost,” and instantly we are all there with him. Yes, what else is there to say about being human in this world. I am lost. Yes. Don’t worry, “The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse” is a touching story but not a sad one. Because the boy finds friends. And it’s this conversation between friends that changes everything for him. One of the most impactful interactions for me was this … “What is the bravest thing you've ever said?” asked the boy. “Help,” said the horse. “Asking for help isn't giving up,” said the horse. “It's refusing to give up.” There’s something about letting your guard down and—I don’t want to say “becoming” vulnerable because we already all are but—admitting we’re vulnerable almost instantly creates connection with certain souls around us. The truth is we’re all feeling it, but we don’t want to say it. Fear keeps us from asking for help. Pride keeps us from asking, but mostly fear, I think. This sounds like a silly example but over the past few years Tina and I have learned how hard it is to care for a sick chicken. We’ve not been too successful. It’s not the caring part, it’s that chickens are so stoic about anything being wrong with them that by the time it becomes outwardly obvious it’s almost always too late to do anything about it. I think it’s strange how chickens want and need to live in flocks but at the same time the flock really seems to abhor weakness. They’ll take advantage of a sick or wounded chicken. Sometimes even kill it. I think it’s because they’re all afraid. So afraid that it leads them at times to be cruel to one another. So chickens learn to take whatever might be wrong and stuff it away where it can’t be seen. That’s so very much us sometimes, isn’t it? The world is often a very unkind place. Which I think is so sadly ironic because I think kindness is really the only thing we all truly want and need. I don’t think there’s anything more deeply beautiful than kindness. A kind world would be heaven really. Tina’s favorite line in the story is when the mole asks the boy, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” And the boy say, “Kind.” It’s the fact that the world is so often unkind that makes asking for help an act of bravery. And today all I want to accomplish with these thoughts is to encourage you to ask. I will tell you the truth. We are all lost. And we all need help. “Asking for help isn't giving up. It’s refusing to give up.” So don’t give up. Ask. No one who does life well does it alone. One more quote for you and then I’ll leave you to go and find the rest. At a low moment for the boy the fox says to him, “You are loved and important. And you bring to this world things that no one else can. So hold on.” So, hold on. Ask for help. Your friends will answer. And later they’ll ask you for help and together you won’t feel so lost. And with each other’s help you’ll find your way home. And with each other’s help you’ll build yourselves a beautiful life.