Lean On Me

From the great writer and singer, Bill Withers and from the brilliant director, Rob Reiner - the song and the movie "Lean On Me."

Sometimes in our lives
We all have pain
We all have sorrow
But if we are wise
We know that there's
Always tomorrow

Lean on me
When you're not strong
I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on
For it won't be long
Till I'm gonna need
Somebody to lean on

Please, swallow your pride
If I have things
You need to borrow
For no one can fill
Those of your needs
That you won't let show

You just call on me brother
When you need a hand
We all need somebody
To lean on


I just might have a problem
That you'll understand
We all need somebody to lean on

If there is a load
You have to bare
That you can't carry
I'm right up the road
I'll share your load
If you just call me
Call Me
If you need a friend
(Call Me)
Call Me

That first chorus got me imminently:

Sometimes in our lives

We all have pain

We all have sorrow

But if we are wise

We know that there's

Always tomorrow

I didn't used to believe that chorus.  I wasn't thinking there would always be a better tomorrow.  I was just focusing on the pain and the sorrow of today.  I was in a deep "why me God" frame of mind. How about you?  When you have pain (physical and/or mental) or sorrow do you trust that you'll eventually get out of the funk and create a better tomorrow?  I do now, but it's really tough.


Then comes the bridge:

Lean on me

When you're not strong

I'll be your friend

I'll help you carry on

For it won't be long

Till I'm gonna need

Somebody to lean on

Besides me doing a "woe is me," I wasn't willing to lean on my friends.  I thought that because I was sad I shouldn't make them sad.  Truth be told, I used that bullshit excuse to mask my fear they wouldn't be there for me.  Not only was I in pain and sorrow, I was also very insecure about my relationships because I didn't love myself.  


If I had only realized my friends wanted to be there for me, I would have gotten over those days sooner.  Now that I've seen the light, I want to be there for my love ones not just because it makes me happy (which is my life goal), but because "it won't be long till I'm gonna need somebody to lean on."


The second chorus is critical when you're going through a bad time:

 Please, swallow your pride

If I have things

You need to borrow

For no one can fill

Those of your needs

That you won't let show

The hardest step is being willing to "swallow your pride" and let people know what exactly you're going through.  You won't look weak to them.  You won't look insecure to them.  You won't look out of control to them.  If they feel any of those things, they're not a good friend in the first place.  A good friend says to you: 

You just call on me brother

When you need a hand

We all need somebody

To lean on

I just might have a problem

That you'll understand

We all need somebody to lean on

I tell the people I mentor to call me anytime.  I don't want them to wait for our scheduled appointment.  I want them to know:

If there is a load

You have to bare

That you can't carry

I'm right up the road

I'll share your load

If you just call me

Call Me

If you need a friend

(Call Me)

Call Me