We all have our stories, our baggage that we carry with us each and every day, wherever we go. It is true, some carry more than others, some are heavier and more permanent. But whatever the weight and size, we need to drag them along and we need to be very careful not to allow them to drag us instead. Life is not easy. We look at our journey of life as being composed of ups and downs. I believe that if people choose to focus on the downs, they will miss the ups. Some look at this phenomenon from a religious perspective and seem to believe that God does not give us more weight than we are able to carry. Some choose not to see it from this perspective because, they argue, they are exhausted and tired and at wits end and still things keep coming at them.
They feel that they won’t be able to handle them for much longer. Some are set to see the glass half full rather than half empty and try to start each day with a positive mindset, hoping that this perspective will help them get through somewhat challenging days. In reality, it is all about our attitude and how we decide to tune our minds in order to be able to deal with whatever comes our way. Let’s face it, it is not easy. When things start going haywire and you feel as if you are in a hurricane, the automatic reaction to things may be fear accompanied by helplessness and the belief that we are not going to cope with this new challenge.
This feeling may last for a while and if we do not fight it, it may easily cause feelings of depression. If we cannot shake off this state of mind then we know that we need some sort of professional help. Therapy helps us calm down and view these new challenges from different perspectives. It gives us the skills needed to find a way through this maze. This is not easy to do especially when our heads are not clear and our hearts are not hopeful. Someone very close to me once told me to breathe, look at this difficult moment in my life and ask myself what can I do today to take me a step closer to dealing with this new challenging situation. Seeing all the blackness as one big picture does not help either. We need to learn to break down this challenge in smaller fragments in order to tackle each piece at a time whilst getting closer to finding a way out of this new maze we are facing. Going to therapy teaches us how to do just that. It’s exhausting and depleting and sometimes when we think that life can’t get any worse, especially when another new problem pops up and we have to go under water again.
Doing so whilst knowing that we will get back up and out of these waters is what makes all the difference. What do I believe? I believe that every day is a new day and I am the one who shapes the attitude of how I am going to face it. If my previous one wasn’t brilliant it does not mean that the ones to follow are going to be the same. I wake up each morning hopeful that today is going to be a sunny day even if it is raining outside. Things do not always turn out the way I want them to and I do lose hope sometimes. Of course. I am human. Yet, I try to pick myself up, brush the dust off and dance in the rain. Sometimes I find someone who picks me up and with a slight pat on the back gives me crutches so I can walk and move on. It is not easy but if we believe in our own personal and innate resources, we will surely find the strength to start climbing the mountain, no matter when we are going to reach the summit. But at least we are giving it our best shot and we are moving to the rhythm of this piece of music called life.
