Can We All Just Ask for What We Need?

Be Like Thomas Sheridan!

There’s a kind of magic—real magic—in being honest. In saying the thing out loud. In asking.

My friend Thomas Sheridan recently wrote something that hit me right in the gut. He said, “I’m terrified my Comfort Angels on Facebook are going to drift away from me.”
He’d just been banned again—twice. And with that, he lost his lifeline to his people, his community. I felt it viscerally. Not as a metaphor. In my body. In my chest.

So I did what felt right—I made a post. I told the truth. His truth. His vulnerability. And you know what? People responded. People reactivated their accounts. Others made new ones just to find him. Because when we show up with realness, when we drop the mask, people feel it.

Another friend of mine told me recently that she’d lost her partner—and with that, her income. She said it plainly. No dramatics. No fishing. Just truth.
So I sent her money. Not everyone would. But some people do. That’s the point. Some people will.

But here’s the thing: we live in a culture that teaches us to hint, to perform, to hide our need behind clever language or a curated image. We’re scared to say, “I’m struggling.”
We’re scared to say, “I miss you.”
Or even, “I need help.”

Because being authentic requires us to reveal ourselves—and that’s terrifying when we’re taught that survival means blending in or being palatable.

But the truth is: you’re not weird. You’re not alone.
We’ve all had these feelings. Different times, different contexts—but the same core hum of fear, grief, longing, or need. It’s human.

When we dare to speak our truth, when we ask directly, something opens. And in that opening, people can show up. The right people. The ones who are listening, who are ready, who are able. Not everyone will. But the ones who do are worth everything.

It’s simple. But not easy.
In a world that teaches us to mask, authenticity is rebellion.
And asking—plainly, vulnerably, without shame—is a spell that calls the right ones in.

So say it. Ask.
Let yourself be seen.

Thomas is here https://x.com/T_Ala_Sheridan