Prompt Of The Week: "You can't save everyone..."
Hello community! 💃🏽
I hope you all are doing well! Welcome back to the writing series, where I present you with a writing prompt to exercise your creative muscles every week ☺️
Although I'm not always able to respond to each of your prompts directly, they’re very impressive and impactful. Everyone's individual creative spin has encouraged myself and others to be fearless in showcasing our unique creativity 💙 If you haven't checked out the previous posts of the series, I've got you! You can find it here!
Without further ado, here is the prompt for today:
"You can't save everyone..."
What will you be doing? Good question! You'll be replying to my post with your original:
1. poems
2. prose (long or short)
As of now, the word limit is a maximum of 500 words.
Happy writing! And feel free to tag some friends if you think they might be interested in this activity! If you have any questions about the series or want to submit a prompt, then please feel free to message me @SirenOfSerenity , or @Clarisse29
If you're interested in being tagged every time a new post is made to the series, reply to this post with "I want to be tagged for more prompts". To be removed from the taglist, reply to this post with "I want to be removed from the prompts taglist" Thank you!
Taglist: @OuiCherie @SoulfullyAButterfly @niens @azuladragon34 @Izzy274 @jersey123456 @usefulsummer3139 @TilXC @KindLemonade @ThoughtfulBlossom @Sugarlife24 @AuroraBriarRose @Torean @TryingTBH2021 @babydino69 @chaoscookie22 @Cuposad076 @Elise849 @TheJenInBlack @AnnaJ718 @RideARainbow @ImaginativeThinker8574 @Aikyaa01 @HopieRemi @NCG2237 @Helgafy @seashell145 @InvaderStitch @blueAngel00 @WharfRat @mysteriousClover @neverendingRainbow489 @LonleyCheese @lyricalAngel70 @discreetSugar176
@SirenOfSerenity oh i had to use the prompt.....
You cant save everyone...
But here's the thing.....
You can write a book. Or even six
And also who told you this? Why can't you save? You should at least try... And first save yourself
💖💖💖💖💖💖
@Marialedoffchoseme I enjoyed both your responses! The first poem you shared gave a very warm and romantic scenery to me, may be because of Valentines week 💝
For your response to the prompt I like that as well! No matter if we decide to try, we have to tend to ourselves first 🥰
I want to be tagged for more prompts
@CalmCoral Added!
I read a quote the other day that makes a lot of sense to me and I want to share it with you.
"The greatest prison that people live in is the one in which worries about what other people think about them."
For me this makes a lot of sense. As to you can't everyone the line speaks to the truth of the matter. You just can't save everyone. Because you first have to save your self. Because if you don't save yourself then you can't begin to help someone else save themselves. But also have to remember not everyone wants to be saved and you must figure that out before you waste valuable time and effort on that someone. When you can put those resources in to helping someone who wants to be saved. I have been on both sides of the coin through addiction at one point I was that person who don't want to be saved. Until one day I woke up and took that first critical step towards saving myself. This is a question that the more you think about it maybe you can save more if we tried a little more. But the question still answers itself you can't save everyone.
Hi @BeeFree82 , I enjoyed your connection of this quote to the prompt!
I also agree that to even attempt to save someone, we have to attempt (or know how) to save our ownselves effectively. What we can do for others depends on what they want for themselves. Thank you for joining in this week 💙
@SirenOfSerenity
I want to be tagged for more prompts
@CatwomenSoulstealer added! ☺️
Another call to the homeless hotline,
Another day of trying to find resources,
Another day of working the 9-5 grind
Another day of being let down by the system.
My job is to help the homeless,
My job is to find resources.
My job is to provide hope
My job is to navigate the broken system
At the end of the day
I'm not sure if I am even doing my job
So many resources,
yet so many limitations,
and the scarcity is real.
At the end of the day
Sometimes I have to remind myself
You can't save everyone,
you can only do your best,
It's not my fault the system is broken
It's not my fault there are so many on the streets,
It's not my fault that the resources are spread too thin,
I have a heart,
I have empathy and compassion,
and as much as I'd like to have the solution,
As much as I'd like to save everyone,
The reality is,
You can't save everyone.
@InvaderStitch this was beautiful! Immediately I could connect to the emotions of seeing everything and everyone that needs "saving" in life's challenges, yet a sense of relief, clarity and acceptance here:
" It's not my fault the system is broken
It's not my fault there are so many on the streets,
It's not my fault that the resources are spread too thin,"
But remembering:
"I have a heart,
I have empathy and compassion,
and as much as I'd like to have the solution,
As much as I'd like to save everyone,
The reality is,
You can't save everyone."
Awesome job Stitch!
@SirenOfSerenity
Thanks! I'm glad it was hopeful/a good message. I work in non-profit as a homelessness case manager and almost daily am interacting with people who have almost nothing and so I have to remind myself daily that it's a broken system, and not a shortcoming on my end when I spend my day making phone calls to find shelter or resources for them and come up empty handed. It's really hard.
I think a lot of it comes in to play for listeners too. That people come here with a variety of "problems" and listeners often have such big hearts and we want to fix the problems people are going through, but sometimes, often times, the person just needs to be heard, and to feel human, and not alone. We aren't here fixing problems, but I've heard of people saying that listeners have saved their lives, which is incredible. :)
@InvaderStitch this is great!
You can't save everyone... or can you?
My little brother battles mental health issues and substance abuse stemming from multilayered childhood trauma. He's been in and out of rehab for the last 15 years. This guy doesn't always think he needs it, believe it or not. The emotional and financial toll on my family in a word... debilitating. In so many ways. I feel the worst for my mum, of course. I mean, right? And my sisters. Especially the littlest one. I wish I could carry the pain for them. Why? Well, for some reason I think I can handle it better. Don't ask, I just do.
Navigating an outdated, underregulated, and underdeveloped mental healthcare system in my country has only made things harder than they need to be. We've wanted to give up.
"It would be easier if he'd just die. To give us sonlme peace. And so that he can stop suffering now. It would be better, right?"
What? We've all thought it. At least I have. It's embarrassing to admit, shameful even. But this is an anonymous space, and I have.
As a family, it has changed and shaped us in different ways through the years. The bumpy cycle of emotions...hope, just a teeny weeny bit. Then uncertainty, then after a longer time blessed relief, then a little more hope, then we always let down our guard and taking a peek to see that it's safe. Slowly. It is. Okay. And then boom... heartbreak.Then anger, fear, disappointment, more anger, and all the rest of it.
Yet, here we are. Celebrating each time he comes out with a renewed sense of that first thing I mentioned. The dreaded H word: hope. *** Hope. He leaves rehab next month and we'll be right here. Loving him and supporting him and knowing that this time will be different... this time we have done it... this time we have saved him.
And I will continue to believe that and fight for him until for whatever reason, good or bad, I don't need to anymore.
Have a beautiful day you beauts. Smile.
@patientHemlock4645 Very lovely response to this week's prompt, sharing how you personally relate to the subject is very courageous and relatable to many 💕 It shows that even if we can't "save" someone, our unconditional love and support can still make impact as the person works on themselves. Their challenges don't make them any less deserving of having unconditional love in their corner. Thank you for participating this week!
I want to be added to the taglist for more prompts
@Iamspoons Added!
Thanks @SirenOfSerenity 🩶 I'd like to try prose this week 😀
Surviving the Sinking Ship
*No...*
He whispered as he and some observant others noticed a huge crack has become bigger and another one has started on their mighty huge ship.
The ship is getting old after sailing the wild ocean for so long. There are leaks from nature's inescapable strikes and frequent friction between passengers. Sometimes they fight over food, another time over extra space or which book is the most pleasant to read. Provoke them a little and they are ready to burn the peace.
He looked up at the people on the upper floor. They laughed and danced in public, but cried and screamed in private. Sometimes they stand near the glass windows whenever the commotion below is loud enough to attract their attention. If only he could ask them to scream a deafening sound, perhaps it can stop the endless fights. But most of them are just the same. Oblivious.
His head bends more to look upwards at the mysterious area at the top. Too dark to see the faces. Only the shape of humans. Just a few of them in there. The cryptic says they hold the power. They watch everything. Do they even realise that everything is connected? At this rate, we will sink together. They are included.
Many people were trying to fix the cracks and leaks around him. Some people endlessly help the wounded, even if they can only hold the hands of those who are bruised and broken. There is not much they can do, but they keep hoping against all odds that little that they do may help ease the pain a bit.
"Take a breather dear friends, you can't save everyone. But you have a better chance when you are at your best."
@ouiCherie lovely to see you participate this week 😀
This was very interesting to dive into as the reader and connected perfectly with the quote you shared:
"Take a breather dear friends, you can't save everyone. But you have a better chance when you are at your best." Is very important to keep in mind. There's nothing wrong with attempting to "save" someone we love and care for, but you absolutely can be of best support when you're at your own best. Thank you for participating this week Cherie!
@SirenOfSerenity
Hi.
I challenge @Mytwistedsoul to write something in between in the writing series.
@SirenOfSerenity
You can't save everyone, it's true
The weight of the world is not on you
Try as you might, you can't be everywhere
And sometimes it seems like nobody cares
But still you keep on trying each day,
With a heart that refuses to give way.
You offer your hand and your kind words,
A small light in the darkness, a hope to be heard.
And though you can't save everyone, that's okay
For every life you touch, you light the way.
Every soul you lift, every heart you mend,
Is a victory, a blessing, a triumph in the end.
So keep shining your light, keep making a stand
For every life you touch, is a life you expand.
You may not save everyone, but that's alright,
For every soul you manage to help, is a ray of light.
-5:30PM
@CatwomenSoulstealer
This is incredibly comforting to read, and impressively creative! This is something I need to read daily 💙
"So keep shining your light, keep making a stand. For every life you touch, is a life you expand. You may not save everyone, but that's alright. For every soul you manage to help, is a ray of light." Very beautiful words, your participation in the prompts of the week are very enjoyable and appreciated