I have a dear friend who is a seasoned and successful real estate agent in Texas. Every month she sends a newsletter to her people. And in this newsletter are all kinds of tips and advice about homes.

This month in her “Did You Know?” section she said “Ceiling fans cool people, not rooms – turn them off when not in use.”

Wait, what???  Ceiling fans cool people, not rooms?

I had to do some digging. 

Turns out, it’s true. Up until today o’clock, I thought a ceiling fan lowered the temperature of the air. All this time, I misinterpreted how the fan helps.

What the fan actually does is help the people in the room by increasing air movement across our skin. That moving air helps sweat evaporate more quickly, and evaporation carries heat away from our bodies. The moving air also strips away the thin layer of warm air that naturally surrounds us.

I guess that makes sense.

Think about standing outside on a 75-degree day: With no breeze it feels comfortable, maybe even a little warm. With a gentle breeze it feels cooler, even though the temperature is still 75 degrees. Reality is still reality. Our body is just losing heat more efficiently.

This last week our neighborhood suffered a tragedy affecting a lot of people. It was traumatic and heartbreaking and far-reaching. 

And when things like that happen, it’s so hard to know how to really help. 

We want to lower the temperature in the room, so to speak. We want to change reality, take away the pain, reverse the loss, undo the shock, make things normal again. Fix it!

But some situations simply don’t offer us that option.

The tragedy remains tragic.

The loss remains a loss.

The grief remains real.

Still, I’ve watched a whole neighborhood text and call and hug and feed and serve and love and bake and talk and pray and show up for one another in the last couple days. 

And true, these meaningful forms of help can’t undo what happened. 

They don’t change the reality of the situation. 

But they sure do change the experience of the people living through the tragedy.

I can’t wait to hear about who or what changed your experience during a difficult time. And if you’re in a situation where you’re carrying more than you were meant to carry alone, I’d love to help. 

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PS If you liked this post – or any others, I’d love you to pass me and my work on to a friend.  They can find out much more about me here if they’re interested!