Thought for the day: 18 May 2017

I believe this is true: that until we can accept ourselves (both our good and not so good aspects), it’s hard to understand and embrace the differences in others.

It’s relatively easy to identify stuff we dislike about other people but can be harder to identify the things we dislike in ourselves. Harder still, to admit to them.

For the best part of the last week I’ve been unwell and have had a lot of time to think about my life. I’ve finally realised what some may have known about me for a long time – that sometimes I have an anger issue. As a child I was not allowed to get angry – I was allowed to be sad or upset but not to be angry. I was taught that to get angry was wrong. As an adult I realise that what my parents were trying to convey is that it’s not the anger itself which is wrong (per se) but what I choose to do with that anger which may be unwise or unhelpful or hurtful to someone else. As an adult I see that, but as a child I simply understood that to be angry was a bad emotion and in my house it was a sin. As a child my experience of other people’s anger (predominantly my father’s) was normally some sort of violent outburst, often directed at one of his children. I was afraid of my father when he was angry, and as I was not allowed to appropriately express anger – I grew up finding any form of angry expression very difficult. Sometimes even now if I’m angry I will cry – and I have a sense that I’m crying for two reasons – one, as a form of releasing some frustration, and the other because tears were an acceptable childhood expression where angry words wasn’t.

I have learnt to come to terms with some of this – I can see what my parents were trying to impart and I have to believe that in raising my siblings and I, they did the best job they could. I have seen anger at times in my siblings but not recognised it in myself. I am the one who has acknowledged an issue with depression and someone once said that depression was just anger turned inward (directed at myself rather than others) -and that makes sense to me. But I’d never really acknowledged my own inappropriate angry outbursts until this week – and I see just how inappropriate they are.

Accepting that ‘this is my stuff’, that I sometimes respond angrily inappropriately, means acknowledging that there are alternative ways of dealing with anger which are appropriate and could be more helpful in future. And I’m finding those ways. Slowly perhaps, but small progress is still progress.

The next step is forgiving myself for my behaviour and choosing to put it behind me and move on. (It sometimes seems that each step is harder than the last!) So that’s been something I’ve been thinking about – forgiving myself. I can’t change what is but I can be aware of my limitations and be mindful of my choices.

In accepting myself, I’m learning to give myself a break, not be so harsh on myself; and in doing that, I’m learning to be a little more understanding, a little kinder and gentler, a little more compassionate with others. So for me it rings true that self acceptance is the first step to embracing the differences in others.

Thought for the day: 16 May 2017

I love this! It seems to me that forgiveness is ALWAYS the right choice.

I’m not suggesting we forget necessarily but I am suggesting we forgive – for our own sake if not that of others. And I know I keep saying it – but if I want to be forgiven, I must learn to forgive. Like many things in life forgiveness is a two way street! And the bonus of forgiving another person – YOU get peace!

Unfortunately, sometimes forgiveness is not just a one-off choice but more of an ongoing process. If you’ve been really badly hurt, you might make the choice to forgive the person who has caused you so much pain. Then the next day you realise that you have to make the same decision to forgive them all over again. Just as loving someone is an ongoing choice, so too forgiveness can be an ongoing choice. And maybe all you can do is forgive what you can right now, knowing that you may have to choose to do it again in an hour’s time, or tomorrow, next week or next month.

If I fell and grazed my knee, my body doesn’t heal itself instantaneously (even if I want it to). It takes time for the white blood cells to form a seal over the injury in order to protect the body. And just as it takes time for a scab to form and for the physical injury to heal itself, so other types of hurt and pain can also take time to heal too. We don’t heal in an instant;  healing is on ongoing process. So too forgiveness can become an ongoing process. Not everything in life is “one and done” – you make a decision and suddenly you’re facing the consequences. Some decisions, like love and forgiveness, can be ongoing choices that we need to make over and over and over again. And all you can do (even in the midst of that pain) is to make the best decision you can at any given time. And that’s all any of us can do.  So don’t beat yourself up if you find you have to forgive the same person for the same thing more than once – because forgiveness, like love and healing, can take time.

I wish you peace.

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.