Today was a day for receiving. I got into a car accident last night. Someone rear-ended me on 28th St. and the experience was shocking, painful, traumatic.

I received so many calls today from friends, text messages, a massage. So much love from all the people around me — it was more than I could respond to.

I didn’t leave the house until late in the day, didn’t give anything until I got to Whole Foods and there were three people, out in the cold, asking for help. So I gave some money—more than I normally would have. And part of it felt like charity, and part of it felt like giving. It’s cold outside; I can’t imagine what it’s like to not have a home or place to sleep. When Katie and I went to the shelter the other day, a woman working there said some people are so mentally ill they can’t get it together to get themselves to the shelter to be warm.

I thought about that today, as I looked at the insurance claims for the accident and felt my body shaking from the memory of it, watched my mind get so overwhelmed by the idea of putting one foot in front of the other and making the call, doing the necessary things to take care of myself. Sometimes, it’s so hard to do what is good for us. Sometimes, fear, pain, any number of things can be so overwhelming that what is obvious doesn’t appear so. I don’t know what it’s like to be mentally ill, but I do know what it’s like to be scared, to feel overwhelmed, and to find it hard sometimes even to do the things I know will help me.