Summer Speedos | Field Notes: I See You Trying
Close Enough to Help, Far Enough for Growth
Field Notes on Encouragement and Care with Johan Heinrichs
Sometimes care looks like stepping in.
And sometimes care looks like staying close while someone learns to keep going on their own.
In this Summer Speedos Field Note, Johan reflects on a simple neighbourhood moment: a child learning to ride a bike while a parent jogs close behind. The bike wobbles. The parent hovers. The sidewalk waits with suspicious confidence.
It is a small scene, but it says a lot about encouragement.
Good care does not always mean fixing, rescuing, or taking over. Sometimes it means being present without controlling the outcome. It means staying close enough to help, but far enough to honour someone’s growth.
Whether you are a parent, friend, neighbour, leader, or part of a church community, this reflection invites you to think about the people around you who are learning something hard — and what it might look like to encourage them without getting in the way.
In this episode
Johan reflects on:
why encouragement does not remove risk
what a wobbly bike can teach us about care
the difference between helping and taking over
why people often need presence more than advice
how encouragement helps put courage back into someone
the awkward middle place between rescuing and abandoning
what it means to support someone while still honouring their growth
The big idea
Good care often lives in the awkward middle place:
close enough to support,
far enough to honour growth.
If we step in too quickly, we may accidentally communicate, “You can’t do this.”
If we step back too far, we may communicate, “You’re on your own.”
Encouragement helps us stay in that middle place with patience, humility, and love.
A moment from the episode
A parent teaching a child to ride a bike has to do something surprisingly difficult: stay near, but not hold on forever.
The child still has to wobble.
The parent still has to let go.
The sidewalk is still, unfortunately, quite solid.
But the encouragement matters.
Those words — “You’ve got it. Keep going. I’m here.” — do not make the risk disappear. They simply remind the child they are not alone while they learn.
That is often what care looks like in everyday life.
Why it matters
There are people around us learning how to begin again.
Someone may be learning a new rhythm.
Someone may be learning how to ask for help.
Someone may be learning how to set boundaries.
Someone may be learning to trust God after disappointment.
Someone may be learning how to belong again after being hurt.
Most of the time, they do not need a lecture.
They need steady encouragement.
They need someone close enough to care, but humble enough not to take over.
This week’s neighbourly practice
Think of one person around you who is trying to learn something hard.
Instead of leading with advice, try offering simple encouragement:
“I see you trying.”
“I’m still here.”
“Keep going.”
Sometimes the bravest thing someone does all week is keep pedalling.
And sometimes the most neighbourly thing we can do is run beside them for a while.
Reflection questions
Who in your life is learning something hard right now?
Where might you be tempted to step in too quickly?
Where might you need to move closer and offer support?
What would encouragement sound like for that person this week?
How can you honour someone’s growth without leaving them alone?
Key takeaways
Encouragement is not empty hype; it is helping put courage back into someone.
Good care does not always remove risk.
People often need presence more than advice.
Supporting someone well requires discernment.
The awkward middle place can be where the deepest care happens.
Sometimes the most neighbourly thing we can do is stay nearby and say, “Keep going.”
Listen and Learn More
For more field notes and stories, visit neighbourlypodcast.ca.
To learn more about CarePortal and practical ways to care for families in your community, visit careimpact.ca.
About Neighbourly
Neighbourly is a CareImpact podcast about ordinary people showing extraordinary care. Through honest stories, reflective conversations, and practical takeaways, each episode invites listeners to notice the people around them and take one simple step toward neighbourly care.
Neighbourly is produced in partnership with CareCreatives Company, helping organizations clarify their message through branding, design, websites, and audio production for social good.
Produced By:
Episode transcript Read the full transcript
Welcome to Summer Speedos
Johan Heinrichs: Welcome to Summer Speedos from Neighbourly, our short in-between-season series while Shannon takes a break from our regular interviews. I’m Johan, the producer of the show.
Johan Heinrichs: Some episodes are field notes recorded outside in ordinary places where care actually happens. Others are story field notes, more cinematic reflections that start with a story from history or real life. Either way, we’re paying attention to the small, ordinary ways care, faith, courage, and community show up around us.
Johan Heinrichs: So grab a cold drink, head out on that bike ride, walk, or hike. Enjoy this year’s edition of Summer Speedos from Neighbourly.
A Field Note from the Neighbourhood
Johan Heinrichs: Hey everyone, Johan here, back for another field note in the Summer Speedos series.
Johan Heinrichs: As we’re in between seasons and in between interviews, I’m taking a moment to walk around the neighbourhoods, trails, and all that stuff, and notice the things and people around me that teach us how to be better neighbours and more observant.
Johan Heinrichs: I’m out on another walk today, actually walking down a street that I’m unfamiliar with, which is kind of fun — mostly because I’m running away from those people staring at me as I talk into a microphone.
Johan Heinrichs: Anyway, there are a lot of kids in our neighbourhood, a lot of dog walkers, and a lot of bicycles. This got me thinking about when my kids were learning to ride their bikes.
The Kid on the Bike
Johan Heinrichs: When I saw a parent teaching a kid to ride a bike, I heard the words every parent says right before a child either learns to ride a bike or enters a shrub:
Johan Heinrichs: “You’ve got it. You’re doing awesome.”
Johan Heinrichs: The bike was wobbling. The kid was pedalling with the intense focus of someone defusing a bomb. And the parent was jogging behind, one hand half-raised, ready to help, but trying very hard not to help too much.
Johan Heinrichs: That’s the whole tension of teaching someone to ride a bike. If you hold on forever, they’re probably never going to learn. But if you let go too soon, the sidewalk introduces itself.
Encouragement Does Not Remove the Risk
Johan Heinrichs: Encouragement doesn’t remove the risk. The kid still has to wobble. The parent still has to let go and chase. The sidewalk remains, unfortunately, quite committed to being solid.
Johan Heinrichs: Unless, of course, you’re talking about Winnipeg and their potholes.
Johan Heinrichs: But the encouragement matters. Someone is close enough to help, but not so controlling that the child never learns. That feels like a picture of care to me.
Close Enough to Support, Far Enough to Honour Growth
Johan Heinrichs: There are times when people need us to carry them, and there are times when people need us to stand nearby and help them try. That can be hard to discern.
Johan Heinrichs: If we step in too quickly, we may accidentally communicate, “You can’t do this.” If we step back too far, we may communicate, “You’re on your own.”
Johan Heinrichs: Good care often lives in that awkward middle place: close enough to support, but far enough to honour growth.
Johan Heinrichs: I think about that in parenting, too. Or in friendship, in leadership, or in church community. There are some people around us trying to learn something new.
Johan Heinrichs: A new rhythm. A new way of asking for help. Maybe a new way of setting boundaries. Or a new way of trusting God after disappointment. We’ve all been there. Maybe it’s a new way of belonging after being hurt.
Putting Courage Back Into Someone
Johan Heinrichs: And sometimes they don’t need a lecture. In fact, they usually don’t need a lecture. They need someone jogging beside them saying, “You’ve got it. Keep going. I’m here.”
Johan Heinrichs: That’s encouragement. Not empty hype. Not pretending everything is easy. Encouragement helps put courage back into someone.
Johan Heinrichs: There is a reason Scripture tells us to encourage one another. Because people are people. They get tired. People wobble. People need courage put back into them.
Johan Heinrichs: And sometimes, yes, people need someone nearby when a shrub or the pavement gets involved.
This Week’s Neighbourly Practice
Johan Heinrichs: So this week, think about the people around you who are trying to learn something hard. Someone taking a step they haven’t taken before. Someone trying to rebuild trust, start again, ask for help, or keep going when they feel clumsy at it.
Johan Heinrichs: Maybe the most caring thing you can offer is not advice. Maybe it’s steady encouragement that sounds like, “I see you trying. I’m still here. Keep going.”
Johan Heinrichs: Sometimes the bravest thing someone does all week is keep pedalling. And sometimes the most neighbourly thing we can do is run beside them for a while.
Johan Heinrichs: That’s the field note. Keep noticing.
