Compassion Before Correction: The Power of Showing Up When Someone is Drowning

There is a saying Peter often reflects on: When someone is drowning, that is not the time to teach them how to swim. It’s simple. It’s direct. And it carries a weight that resonates far beyond the water.

Far too often, when a person is struggling, the instinct of those around them is to fix. To offer advice. To explain what went wrong or how they could have avoided the situation in the first place. But when someone is fighting to keep their head above water emotionally, mentally, or even physically, instruction is rarely what they need first.

What they need is a hand.

Not a lecture.
Not logic.
Not a breakdown of decisions and consequences.

Just someone who notices. Someone who cares. Someone who says, I see you — and I’m here.

In moments of overwhelm, a person does not need strategies for swimming; they need rescue. The conversation, the guidance, the lessons can wait. There is a time for teaching — but it must come after the breathing has steadied, after the panic has passed, after the person has been pulled to shore.

Compassion first. Correction later.

When storms hit — grief, depression, burnout, heartbreak, failure, financial crisis, loss — clarity disappears. Even simple tasks feel heavy. A drowning person cannot learn; they can only survive. And in those fragile moments, empathy is not merely kindness — it is life support.

• A hug can be more powerful than a solution.
• A listening ear can be more healing than instructions.
• A presence can be more meaningful than the perfect words.

Because when a person is fighting just to stay afloat, empathy might be the only thing that keeps them from going under.

The world doesn’t need more critics standing on the shore pointing out mistakes. It needs more people willing to wade into the cold, choppy waters beside someone who is struggling — not to judge, but to lift.

Help them breathe first.
Pull them from the waves.
Let them feel safe, seen, and supported.

There will be time later to talk about swimming, navigating currents, and building strength for future storms. But rescue always comes before lessons.

Sometimes the greatest act of love is simply showing up with compassion instead of correction — extending a hand instead of offering advice. And sometimes, for someone who is barely holding on, that hand is enough to save a life.