Healing Words Requested For A Blogger

It is not so much our friends' help that helps us, so much as the confident knowledge that they will help.
-- Epictetus

No, not me. Rand, at Pantajali. He's had something of a sad sack persona on that blog for as long as I've been visiting, but nowadays it sounds like things are getting reeeally sour.

Years ago I used to dispense comfort & advice (under my real name, with a different email addy) to strangers on usenet forums like alt.support.depression and alt.romance.unhappy Such was the nature of the internet--being alone at your pc, but also in a group of individuals with similar interests and problems--that it was easy to make a connection with people in need. I had to fight the tendency to come across as an Angel Of Misfortune, and I did step on a few rakes, and toes. But I will always remember the times I was able to say the right word at the right time to someone, and have it be a moment of healing.

I don't have opportunities to do much of that anymore, too many real-life concerns and all. But I'm sure--I know, rather--that there are plenty of people dropping by who have the gift of healing words in much fuller measure than I do. So...

So I would like to presume on our slender acquaintance, dear visitor, and ask you to go visit Rand, and say a kind, supportive word to him. If you have some good advice for him, some double backflip of a reverse-psychology insight that might help him get fresh traction on the situation, so much the better. But mainly, it seems to me, he needs heartening up. He could probably deal with everything just fine, but it would surely be easier if his morale could be boosted a few notches. Check the epigraph, up at the top of the post.

Kindness doesn't cost anything. So please; click on over and be a sunray for today!