Thought for the day: 27 April 2017

Thought for the day: 16 April 2017

Some days I think we just need to give ourselves a break!  Some days we might not have the energy or the motivation or the time to do the things that we think we ought to do. And some days that’s ok.

Some days what I’m capable of might not seem like much, and maybe it’s not. And on those days I use the motto “All I can do is all I can do.” And some days that has to be enough.

We’re allowed to take time out to rest, or to play, or to work in the garden, or to NOT work in the garden. Some days we just need a little time – it might be a little time for ourselves, or time with a friend; time to read or to play, to relax or to sleep. Whatever you feel like you need  – it’s ok.

Be kind to YOU.

“Go easy on yourself. Whatever you do today, let it be enough.”

Perspective and Hope – a few thoughts

I’ve been thinking about perspective. Sometimes I find my perspective becomes my sense of truth,  and I forget that what I’m seeing is simply that: my perspective. If I can take a step back, a step away from the situation, just a little distance, then I can get a different perspective. But stepping away can be a big ask when you are depressed or anxious or fearful and my world (the way I’m seeing it right now) seems to be so real.

When I’m depressed, I’ve learnt that a different perspective is often all I need to be able to view my world differently. Sometimes a friend (or even someone who is not a friend) can help me get a glimpse of a different view. More often than not, just a little time out helps – like going and having a nap (or having a bath, or watching a movie or listening to some music) – and when I wake up/re-emerge, the world has changed a little – even if only a few degrees, and that’s sometimes enough to give me a different perspective on the world; a different perspective on my world.

That’s one of the insidious things about depression (and other forms of mental unhealth) – it fools us into thinking how I feel right now, that’s how life really is – when actually, it’s just my current perspective. The lie is ‘this is it and this is all life will ever be’ and it’s such a lie – but we can’t see that at the time, so we believe it. And that’s why we need a little alternative perspective – so that we remember that ‘these are just my feelings’ – nothing more, nothing less. These feelings might feel like my current truth, but they are just feelings and they come and go. How I feel tomorrow will not be exactly the same way I feel today. And deep down I still believe in HOPE. I wrote a poem earlier today about life without hope because I remember what that feels like. But this is my reminder that life, my life, my world, how I see the world – it’s just my perspective, it’s not my truth.

And actually I do believe in hope. I believe there is always hope – it may be hiding somewhere and may take some effort to find, but hope is there if we will search for it and take find it and take hold of it.

My encouragement to you, if you are struggling, is to remember that THERE IS HOPE. And that if the world looks bleak, take a moment, take some time out, so that you too can find a new perspective, a new way of looking at the world.

And if you take some time out and you still struggle with your view of the world, try making a list of all the things that you are grateful for, the people in your life, the experiences you’ve had, the things you’ve done that you have enjoyed and/or are grateful for. That can be a good place to start. Make that list and hold on to it, and let that list provide some hope – some sense of what there is to be thankful for, and what you might want to build on in the future.  And tomorrow, add to that list anything you can think of that brings you joy (a quiet walk in the forest, the feel of the wind on your face, having a bath surrounded by candle-light, the smell of vanilla or lavender, the taste of … you get the picture). Having a list of things you are grateful for and/or enjoy can give you something to hang onto when life seems bleak. There can be better days. And we can go on to enjoy new experiences.

Sometimes we just need a little perspective.

Life Without Hope – a poem

Its a game and I’m losing

A swimming pool and I’m drowning

It’s a wood fire and I’m burning

The end’s coming around soon

 

It’s ice and I’m skating

From on high and I’m falling

A volcano and I’m erupting

Almost time to fade away

 

A butterfly whose hours are numbered

A fledgling about to be attacked

A fish about to swim into a net

The game is almost over

 

Just a dusty piece of string

It could have meant anything

Just swaying in a gentle breeze

It was supposed to mean something

 

So you light the piece of string

At once ablaze, simply burning

I wasn’t made to be that way

But I succumbed and here I lay

 

It’s a game and I am losing

A pile of leaves and I am burning

And when the embers are cold and black

The remains will scatter with the wind

 

What chaos brought me here?

Divine plan and haunted history

A few friends, a few smiles and tears

And what will be left when I am gone?

No legacy to call my own.