The Dalai Lama, when asked what surprised him most about humanity, answered “Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”
-14th Dalai Lama
When you think of the perfect family or the perfect job — what does that look like to you? I can bet you that everyone’s definition of perfect is different. It’s catered to what your needs and desires are. You dream of being a singer? I’m sure perfection would be doing gigs every night and writing music without having to return to your day job. Am I right?
When I was younger my vision of perfect was to have the kind of mom that baked cookies all the time and never looked at the price tags while shopping. That my dad would let me have whatever I wanted and I wouldn’t have to do chores for an allowance. I chuckle to myself because I’m sure that there’s a girl who wished that her parents were more fiscally responsible and had better eating habits. LOL.
As I’ve grown up, I’ve come to realize that perfect isn’t about wanting something you don’t have. It’s about accepting what you have — good or bad. It’s taken many years (still in progress) to accept this fact. Perfect is what I make of it.
Accepting what I would have considered ideal is not the reality. But I do have a choice to be content and practice gratitude in my life for what I do have. I could literally come up with hundreds of things to be thankful for that range from small to big. The one that is the most important to me is that God loves me exactly for who I am — always has and always will.
That gives me strength along with the support of family and friends. Finding my purpose has also given me a big boost of strength and empowerment. My purpose is to help people, to bring people together to talk about their experiences and to inspire people by what I’ve learned. How that will transpire in the future – I’m not really sure but I know that I can start by living by the principle and trust in what God has in store for me.
You know that feeling you get when there’s something that strikes a chord within you but you hold it back? When you’re so angry or sad you could cry but quickly change the subject or walk away?
For years I’ve had no issue being the loud, funny one in the group. The one who makes the group laugh and tries to deflect any subject from turning too emotional. Yup, that’s me.
Now to my friends it may seem that I’m an open book. That I wear my heart on my sleeve and that I’m willing to discuss any topic, but the truth is there are some things that I’ve trembled at the thought of being broached. And my heart on my sleeve? Well, that’s just me being hyper-sensitive.
Singing, laughing, speaking, shouting has never been an issue but crying and expressing my hurt has never been easy and understanding the why has allowed me to begin to work through how to change it for the better.
I’ve noticed that in my family there’s a lot of deflection from raw emotions when difficult times arise. We are afraid to cry, because we were never taught to how to receive a crying person. It was never taught that when someone feels sad, that you comfort them either by soothing words or an embrace that lets you know you’re safe and it’s okay to feel the way you feel.
What ends up happening is that you first, get stared at. Then, if you’re lucky they’re sympathetic and give you a pat on the back with a quick hug and try to bring up the positives (sometimes they’re very far-reaching) so that you don’t have to dwell on whatever thoughts led you to tears.
If you’re not lucky you are told that things are not that bad and that crying is an overreaction to what you’re feeling. I swear I can’t stand that!
The reason for why I want to change it is because I want to create a space for any future relationship/children where anyone can be comfortable to just feel and not be judged.
There are a few rules that I would like to put out into the universe for how to deal with a person that is in a state of sadness/grief. If you have any other suggestions, please feel free to comment – I’d love to hear what has worked for you as the cryer or the comforter.
WHO WERE YOU TODAY? 