Mental Wellness Challenge
2022, June 02
A couple of weeks have passed since I blogged… Life’s carrying on..
My last challenge for you was:
- Do something unexpected for someone else.
- Give a friend, or a loved one a hug.
- Tell a friend, family member or co-worker that they are an important part of your life.
Hope you “smashed it out of the park”.
I did OK. Not stellar, not a wash out either.
On doing something unexpected for someone else – I did this. It really wasn’t a big deal for me, pretty much just a couple of steps out of my usual routine – but my little something made the recipient smile.
OH YES. I made sure I did this one. Both a friend and a loved one…. And it wasn’t even the same person…
With telling a friend, family member or co-worker that they are an important part of my life – well I used to do this a whole lot more. I simply stopped taking the intentional time to do it. My words weren’t disingenuous when I did make them – and it wasn’t contrived – the statements were heartfelt. I think I have a “uh-huh” as to why I stopped – and that has to do with my own sense of self worth being pretty low for a while… This is something that I need to get back into again.
This week – my head and my heart have a need to share about my masks, kindness, other’s journeys, my journey and getting from point ‘a’ to point ‘b’ (one day at a time).
Anyone who has read any of my posts know that I implore folks to be kind – because nobody can tell what another person (the other) is going through because we all wear masks to hide the shit storm that can be and sometimes is life. A tiny act of kindness, or conversely the absence of any contrary comment or action – could have an incredible effect on another’s experience.
We don’t and can’t tell what another is going through. I’m one of the most open people I know. I share my heart, my hurts, my experience with mental health and my challenges with it – with lots of people. That’s who I am… that said – I wear a mask because there’s shit in my life that I don’t share with anyone — anyone – not even my Karen. Perhaps my sharing as much as I do is like a pressure relief valve. If I didn’t share – perhaps I would explode when I totally don’t/didn’t expect to.
Imagine if you could see a “shit bubble” floating around everyone… (Scary thing for me to think about – by maybe the thought exercise will be useful.) The “shit bubble” would reveal their burdens and you would be able to see the “stuff” that people are packing around. For instance – This person packing the loss of a job, that person a nasty tooth ache… and on and on… would that help with being kind? I kind of think/know that as humans we would stop seeing the little bubble above folks after a while… kind of like we stop seeing the wonders of the mountains and forests around us… well – I know I would… I don’t know about you…
So… I/we don’t/can’t know about the journey of the other – I/we don’t/can’t know about the ‘stuff’ the other is struggling with… we all hide behind our masks…
Please be kind.
I/we can’t see the pain of a lost pregnancy behind the mask the person is wearing.
Please be kind.
I/we can’t see the excruciating fear of finding out your loved one has cancer.
Please be kind.
I/we can’t see that other is lost in the abyss of major depression.
Please be kind.
I/we can’t see the confusion of an addiction to drugs or alcohol that is stealing the life source from the other.
Please be kind.
I/we can’t see the heartbreak of a child’s illness that is overwhelming the other.
Please be kind.
I/we can’t see the terror of learning that a loved one has suffered a heart attack.
Please be kind.
I/we can’t see the confusion of trying to navigate in a brand new land/country.
Please be kind.
I/we can’t see the hopelessness of losing the only job the other has known to do.
Please be kind.
I/we can’t see the anxiety of being held accountable for actions the other has taken while intoxicated (for example the anxiety of being faced with criminal charges for impaired driving).
Please be kind.
I/we can’t know the pain the other feels from the suicide or attempted suicide of a friend or loved one.
Please be kind.
I/we simply can’t know the other’s journey…
One moment of kindness can make a huge difference in another’s experience. There’s so much that we hide from each other – and I think that’s the way its supposed to be. We all have “personal spaces”, “interpersonal spaces”, and “public spaces” and all the ingredients that go into those spaces…
I think its important that I personally try to be as kind as I can. I don’t need to be the straw that breaks someone’s spirit…
This week I challenge you to:
- Be kind – practice kindness.
- Look for opportunities to support others.
- Be accepting.
- Try to limit any gossip. Practice what Socrates suggests:
Only listen or repeat information about another if it is:
True
Good
Useful