Charlene’s Corner…
During my depression days and when I was feeling nothing but sorry for myself and at the bottom of the barrel, Will would remind me there is only one way to go when we are down and of course that is UP. I would often reflect on that and when I was in my darkest hour I decided I needed to make a sincere effort to go up. I adopted an “Attitude of Gratitude” as I read about acknowledging what you are thankful for each morning. Is this really going to work? I needed to experiment and at least give it a try as I was in the dumps anyway.
I clearly recall the first time I tested the waters with this approach and realized I only had about three things I was grateful for. One of those things was someone had planted some flowers in front of my condo the day before and the tag was right next to it and it read “Happy Days”. This simple gesture brought light to my life. I know it doesn’t sound like much but I was pretty isolated in self pity and my hard comings. At first it was with much difficulty to find things I was thankful for, but every single day from that point on I continued with my prayers of thanksgiving. Life started brightening up and suddenly my list grew little by little and it was much easier finding a lot more things I was grateful for than not.
Life took a interesting turn and I was slowly starting to climb up. It was a snowball effect that with each passing day the ball grew bigger and bigger and my depression was leaving me as well. I was going out and about, went to rehabilitation for my vision and hearing loss, my kids started coming around, got a job again, new friends, my mom became my new neighbor and started working out at the gym just to name a few things that happened along the way. This did not happen overnight, it took years… Then last summer I was outside admiring my Happy Days and came to the realization that not only did my flowers multiply but literally my days are so filled with happiness and simple blessings that people take for granted.
I continue to practice this meditation to keep my mind, body & spirit healthy as this is the thing I like to focus on the most. There are times like this past week that I struggle and that my days are not so happy, but with my new attitude it’s much easier and safer to bounce right back and not go back down to ground zero. Luckily I have the support of family and friends as well as my awareness when stress is starting to creep up on me, which makes it easier for me to stay on top of my game. So remember as Will says ~ REFUSE 2B FEEBLE & Cheers to your Happy Days!!
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