An old friend of mine asked for a favor today. He is a man I’ve always looked up to as a true model of strength and character. I could hardly imagine him asking for help. But life happens to all of us, and seeing his vulnerability led me to reflect on the nature of crisis.

In a crisis, loneliness feels like an objective truth. But more often than not, it’s just a trick of perception. I’ve had periods in my life where meaning seemed to vanish. Looking back, I see that the meaning was always there, and so were the people who cared. They are often invisible, hidden behind the fog of our own problems when we focus too intensely on our own why.

In those moments, one rule saved me: do what you can. I realized that the small things I could control were actually vital. They built the momentum I needed to handle bigger challenges and, eventually, gave me the power to serve others on a much larger scale.