Everyone Needs a Chief Encourager. I Call Mine Dr. S. ❤️

Everyone Needs a Chief Encourager. I Found Mine in midst of harshest winter I had faced in my life.

There is someone you want to show your newest artwork before the paint has properly dried. Someone you want to send your latest blog to. Someone you can talk about a small victory without first explaining why it matters so much. And someone you can turn to when things are difficult, even when you haven’t quite found the words.

For me, that person is Dr. Shanu. A busy doctor. My senior in faith. My senior friend. And, somewhere along the way, my Chief Encourager. An appointment made entirely by me. No interview, no consent form, and certainly no retirement provision. Today, on her birthday, I want to celebrate her and the difference an encourager can make in someone’s life.

A promise kept. A door opened.

I first met Dr. S in 2019, when she came to my district to take Gosho study. We met once or twice at Gakkai meetings after that, followed by a gap.

What stayed with me was the impression of a soft-spoken, warm person. Then, in November 2019, I bumped into her at a faith meeting. I don’t know what prompted me, but I asked whether she would come home for a home visit and chant with me. She said she would. And, to my surprise, she kept her promise.

I still remember opening the door to welcome her. Her smile, her warmth, her hug there was something about her that made me feel at ease.

At the time, I couldn’t have known how much that association would come to mean to me. Looking back, I smile at how a friendship that has held so much began with one request and someone making time to honour it.

She met a version of me who was struggling. The Rashi she came to know was trying to process her mother’s death while navigating challenges at work & health.

Life was demanding, and I was trying to find my feet. I think of that phase as the beginning of Version 3 of Rashi. Though, unlike a software update, this version arrived without instructions, a progress bar, or any assurance that the bugs had been fixed.

There were questions. Doubts. More questions. Fortunately, Dr. S has a sporting spirit. Being my friend requires one.

She made room for my questions and helped me look at what I was facing through faith. Our conversations gave me encouragement I could carry back into my everyday life. Since 2020, she has been a big part of my growth.

When I look at the things I now create, write, attempt and share, I can see how much it has mattered to have someone who receives them with warmth. Someone whose encouragement makes me want to keep exploring what I am capable of.

The first person you want to tell. My artwork. My doodles. My Photographs I clicked during travels. My blogs. My challenges. So often, she is the first person I want to share them with.

There is something lovely about having a person like that in your life. You don’t have to wait until your work is perfect or your thoughts are neatly arranged. You can share something while you are still figuring it out.

That matters more than we sometimes realize. Putting your work into the world can feel surprisingly vulnerable. Even a small doodle carries a little piece of you. A personal blog carries considerably more.

Encouragement helps you take that chance again. Over time, those small acts of sharing become part of your growth. You try another idea. Write something more honestly. Allow yourself to be a beginner. Discover an ability you might otherwise have kept tucked away.

Dr. S has helped create that space for me. Six years of standing beside me. Six years on, she continues to stand beside me like a rock.

And yet, there are many times when I don’t even get a whiff of her own struggles. She has her work, her responsibilities and challenges I may know little about. Still, so often, she makes room for me.

As I write this, I feel grateful and reminded that I must make room for her too.It is easy to become so accustomed to someone’s strength that we forget to ask how they are doing. We arrive with our worries, feel lighter after talking, and sometimes forget that the person listening may be carrying something heavy themselves.

I want to remember to pause and ask, “And you? How are you, really?” My Chief Encourager deserves encouragement too.

Whose potential are we helping grow? Knowing her has made me think about the place encouragement holds in our relationships. We often admire people once their abilities are visible. We applaud the finished artwork, the published blog, the confidence, the achievement.

But much of that growth begins earlier, in quieter exchanges with someone taking an interest before there is anything impressive to show.

Someone remembering to ask how it went. Someone listening to the doubt you have voiced several times already. Someone making time for a visit they promised.

We may never know how much these moments mean to the person receiving them. I doubt Dr. S knew, when she stood at my door in Jan 2020, that I would still be writing about that moment six years later.

But I am. And perhaps that is something worth asking ourselves: Who feels a little more able to try because we are in their life?

Happy Birthday, my Chief Encourager.

Dr. S, thank you for keeping that promise. Thank you for chanting with me, answering my numerous questions, sharing in my little creations, and standing beside me through difficult seasons.

Thank you for your warmth, your sporting spirit, and the friendship that still brings a smile to my face.

You have been such an important part of the Rashi who has grown over these six years. There is more of me willing to create, share and try because you have encouraged me along the way.

On your birthday, I wish you the same warmth and care you have given me. People who make time for you, listen to you, celebrate you, and notice when you need a little encouragement yourself.

And yes, there will almost certainly be another doodle, another blog and another question coming your way.

Your appointment continues.