None of us want to be a bother, yet we all have differing ideas of what that actually means and likely apply it differently to those around us. Trying to not be a bother has played a huge roll in my life and I’m not exactly sure why. When asked why I’m so afraid of being a bother, I generally resort to an answer involving not wanting to be the center of attention or a nuisance, which is true, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. Much like my recent realization that much of my decision making throughout my life has been made with a very temporary mindset, me realizing that I worry too much about being a bother to others has hindered my growth. In both cases there’s nothing I can do about the past, but I can try to recognize it going forward and potentially do better going forward.
In 1990, I first heard the amazing song “They Said Tomorrow” by Abecedarians, which has a repeated line about the singer trying to build up the nerve to approach a someone he is drawn to: “If I bother you/please tell me to go away/I don’t want to bother you/but it’s not for me to say” and it hit me at the time like a ton of bricks. It encapsulated so much of what I’ve always felt. I’ve always felt like my presence alone is an unwanted intrusion. I do not have a ready reason why this is and I don’t think it’s particularly important. What I do know is that feeling this way has prevented me from trying a lot of things. In that song “They Said Tomorrow,” it displays the other definition of ‘bother,’ which is to not try something period. The narrator of that song keeps putting off this supposed urgent need, instead saying to himself “I’ll try it again tomorrow.” This other side of the coin is intriguing me today, because it calls to motivation. Have I been more concerned about disturbing others, or does it have to do more with me not wanting to disturb myself? Did I not ask the girl out on a date, because I was afraid of bugging her, or was it because I was afraid of her saying yes? It cannot ever have been about rejection, because that was pretty much my expectation. After missing a week of school as a little kid, and falling woefully behind in math, did I not ask the teacher for help, because I didn’t want to draw attention to myself, or be a burden, or because I didn’t want to do the extra work to catch up?
Not sure any of these questions are answerable in a definitive way, or if they’re even relevant. The important part is to recognize, going forward, when I am about to use ‘bother’ as an excuse, I need to consider the response further. If the past week has proved anything to me is that I am not far from needing to be taken care of to survive. During the past week or so, I have fallen in public, which is scary because there’s little chance that I will be able to get up again on my own, I have found it nearly impossible to climb out of bed, I am struggling to eat or prepare food or even obtain groceries, I struggle to focus to fill out or even read health insurance paperwork, I canceled a doctor’s appointment, because it was too much effort to get there. I will have to be a bother. This cannot go on. It’s depressing as hell. I don’t know how to ask for help. Perhaps, ‘bother’ to me, has always meant ‘burden’ – a heavy load to be dragged around. I am trying my damnedest to get through this. I wish it were a switch I could flip off.
I have been blessed with family and
friends that want to help, but I honestly don’t know how to accept it. I do not feel like I deserve it. It’s not so much that I don’t want to be a
bother, it’s that I don’t think I’m worth the bother. Perhaps that is where I need the most
assistance – help to find the ability to accept assistance and accept it
gracefully.
