Have you ever felt as though you are the only person in the world feeling a certain way at that moment?

Have you ever felt as though you are the only person in the world feeling a certain way at that moment?

Have you ever felt as though you are the only person in the world feeling a certain way at that moment?

Or that you are going through something very uncomfortable and you don’t know what is going on?

I have, and I know that I’m not alone.

For years, I searched for people that experienced similar adversities to myself as I always felt alone. I wanted to identify my struggles with theirs, and when I discovered somebody that had gone through something akin to mine, a sense of enormous relief would surge through my body and mind.

Eventually, many, many years later, I was able to start viewing life and myself differently. These days I firmly believe that whatever you are going through right now, or in the past, is to allow you to help someone else. To become that person that I spent so many hours searching for. When we can discover meaningful purpose in our most difficult times, it can bring us deep gratitude and further healing.

I view vulnerability as a great strength to have, and when honoured, we step into helping others. Imagine if no one ever dared to show their true feelings or their deepest fears for fear of being judged? And how would we ever be able to relate to another human on a soul to soul level?

We wouldn’t – we’d all be walking around oblivious of anybody else or certainly in an authentic state of being.

Some people that did help me in my distant past most of all, and even more recently, when a problem may arise (because let’s face it, it happens to us all – you can be going through a smooth patch in your life, when suddenly, up crops some kind of happening in an attempt to throw us off of our path). Those people could genuinely listen without judgement and offer nothing but compassion for the pain that I felt. We’re not always looking to be fixed. Sometimes being held in the moment and heard can be exactly what we need most of all.

Being able to say “me too” can be such a validating experience, and it lessens the confines of feeling deeply alone. I found this largely through books about actual life experiences or life stories. I loved how real, how giving, how raw and profound these authors were to share in such a selfless manner. Over three decades, I managed to get through my version of a library of books dedicated to this “self-help” genre. Mostly, each one helped change my perceptions or taught me new and helpful information, word by word. And I did not feel as alone.

So it makes sense that I am hugely excited to have recently been offered a spot on a radio show. Not just one spot, but every week! When the offer came through, the younger girl in me squealed in joy at this opportunity, knowing that I could be “that” person for someone who was tuning into the show. The older girl in me also joined in with the squeal, I can tell you!

I will be delighted in sharing the titles of some truly fabulous books that have helped to change my life and those of others. I’ll be diving into and exploring topics that can affect any one of us in this thing called life. We are humans with feelings, and feelings are my thing. I look forward to sharing with you soon.

I’m Samantha Houghton (Sam), and you can find my presenting slot on WCR FM – Wolverhampton’s Local Radio Station every Thursday at 11.30am 🙂
http://www.wcrfm.com