I’ve been on the spiritual journey for close to 20 years! When I first started, I was in a dark place in my life struggling with health issues, worry, and anxiety. At the time I wasn’t aware that that’s what it was. Anxiety and depression weren’t talked about as openly and there definitely was a stigma that came with it.
Thankfully, we’ve come a long way - yes, we still have further to go. Mental health is acknowledged world-wide now. Resources for help are more readily available. Maybe the one positive about the pandemic is that there is a lot more information and articles published in the media about mental health; it’s created awareness. It’s finally recognized as an illness, and I dare to hope, that it soon will be recognized as being essential to physical health.
When I began my spiritual quest, I was on the self-help train. I read every book out there that promised to enlighten me, make me less judgemental, inspire me to be “happy”, help me experience more joy in my life, and to manifest the life I always dreamed of. It’s true, they did help me change the way I think and to lead a more mindful life. But I also found that they had a tendency to set me up for failure. I read all the books, followed their specific philosophy for a week or so, and then real life would set in. With that came self-judgement, frustration, and consequently, anger because I felt I had failed to remain happy amongst heartache, turmoil, and the stress of everyday life.
Here’s what I know. Life will be messy forever - that’s not going to change. I can try and change how I react to that. Some days I do better than others! I can read books and take whatever resonates with me. I can try and be better and then when I fall off the spiritual turnip truck, I can take the days I need and jump back on the train without hating myself. All of that’s ok! It’s called being human! Not a single one of us can be happy all the time, nor can we be present all the time. We must be easier on ourselves.
What we need to do, in my opinion, is experience life exactly how it is. It’s not about being happy all the time. It’s about accepting the moments (whatever they may be) and changing what you can, then moving on if there is nothing to be done.
The strategies in my book, “Empowering our Future” are not meant to make you and our youth happy 24/7 - this just sets us up for failure. They are provided to help us become aware of our feelings and emotions, and communicate them in a healthy way without judgement. They’re there to teach us to become aware of what our body is telling us and then move through it without getting stuck. The strategies give us ways to see, hear, and feel what is going on within. We can then change our thoughts, beliefs, and actions around specific situations.
I’ve practiced these strategies every day for years and they’ve definitely changed my life for the better! I have witnessed for 10 years how they’ve helped children in a variety of ways. They absolutely work for decreasing stress and anxiety, allowing us to become aware of our negative vs positive thoughts, and finding ways to turn that around. Then, when we do have the down days (and all of us will - we’re human after all) there are ways to pull us out of the depth and know there will be brighter days!
Until next time…may you enjoy moments of happiness!