It is not alright

Strength in weakness I have heard before the phrase  ‘You cannot appreciate life, without death, you cannot enjoy happiness without sadness, you cannot feel love, without first experiencing loneliness’ This phrase is very true. One thought i want to add, is that  ‘you cannot be strong, without first climbing from weakness.’ When we are first born, we are completely dependent on those around us to survive. We cannot walk, talk, eat, without the help and guidance of our parents.  Imagine a small baby boy. At first he couldnt even support his own head. As he grew, his muscles became stronger, and he learned how to move his body. He started crawling, stumbling, falling and walking. He was weak in his ability at first, but now...there is no stopping him! In our own life, we can take from this an encouraging point,  Weakness transforms into strength, and opportunities continue to blossom When we are in a position in our life where it feels like

Knowledge/ then judgment. Last blog entry was talking about knowledge, and how we understand our lives.  This time i want to talk a bit about judgment.  For me, the two topics are linked. Judgment seems to come when someone believes they have the knowledge to make a particular decision or opinion. If someone has a sore toe and stays home from work for a week, their would probably be judgment from the other workers  ‘are they just weak and cant cope with pain? ‘Are they just sick of work?’ ‘Are they having an affair with the boss and they had a fight.....’ when in reality, their toe actual broke and wasnt healing properly.  As you can see, judgmental thoughts can leap out of control quickly. Mental illness seems to be a magnet for judgment. ‘Their just a bit lazy’  ‘They need to toughen up, its not that hard’ ‘They are letting everyone down’ ‘They dont care about those they love’  ‘I would deal with that so much better than they do’ Sometimes j

Does knowledge always have the answer? Is knowledge instinctive or learned?  In a way its both. When we are born, we dont know things like 2x2=4, but we do know how to breath, and the instinctual knowledge of how to gain sustenance to survive.  Its difficult to seperate the two points. Some people say how amazing they are with the knowledge they’ve gained, and yet someone who has not had any training may also achieve the same goals.  But how is this knowledge relevant when someone is unwell?  Knowledge can help lead a person down the path to insight, and relief, but in some cases, it can become a blockage to healing.  There are many times in our life where the facts from a text book are enough to get us through.  For example, if someone comes out in a rash after eating egg, it can be diagnosed that there is an egg allergy, even a blood test can prove this. Unfortunately, mental illness is not as simple as that.  There is no blood test or brain scan that c

Friendships. For some people, friendships are easy, for others it can be difficult. There are so many variations on how different friendships work. Some people can  be  a good friend but dont  have  a good friend. Some people  have  good friends but are  not  good friends in return. Then    the true friendship, goes both ways. We need to be there for each other. Supporting when we are falling. No matter how things play out in our lives, the people around us are part of what makes us who we are  I said ‘part of’ becasue those around us shouldnt dictate our life.  Having a friend: someone who you can call at midnight and say ‘i need you’ but at the same time can go out and watch a stupid movie and laugh on the couch all afternoon.  This sort of friendship, in my experience is rare.  Its sought after, and sometimes forced, to act as if it were true, but it often doesnt totally add up. When someone has a mental illness, a lot of people find it too much hard work to stick