Further Musings.....
....... when I wrote that post about mental health I didn't realize that this is Mental Illness Awareness Week here in Canada. Go figure - coincidences happen. I found that out while rummaging through Saturday's papers and found this column by Robyn Sarah in Toronto's Globe and Mail. So, credit due and all that business...... (and if the author or publishers would like this link taken down simply contact me.)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20081004.BKREAD04//TPStory/Entertainment
The article is a good read and she gives a synopsis of three books written by people who have lived with mental illness. I read, back when it was released, Mark Vonnegut's 'Eden Express' and appreciated the courage and honesty that went into the writing of it.
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.....but as to the 'further musings', a couple of other things occurred to me so indulge me for a few minutes here.
As to the seasonal change effect... for myself I think it simply has to do with the transition into a time of year that I don't like. Autumn I can handle but it is full of foreboding about the fact that winter is in the offing. Winter seems to me to last FOREVER..... and can't be over soon enough. I don't believe I suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.) but I'm mindful of it's existence. As a preventative measure I start to push vitamin D at this time of year along with B complex.
On a different tack some of us are more sensitive to media input than others; I become in part what I watch, read and hear. Make any sense?? There are a couple of threads to this, one of which is application of the Serenity Prayer which helps me differentiate between those things that are within my control from those that aren't.... period. I have a choice to make. I can either continue to follow the big issues and fret over them - elections here and south of the border, global financial disasters, etc, etc.... or I can tune out ostrich-like and change the channel or shut the damned thing off. Buy in or opt out. Simple. Watch the comedy channel or listen to some music; go for a walk. Unrelenting, prolonged periods of stress kill me.
Beyond perhaps casting a vote I can't do much about those 'big' issues mentioned above and in my previous post I detailed some ways I combat or try to prevent the crunch. What I didn't spell out while talking about the thought process and the benefits of talking with others about these sorts of concerns is the necessity of ACTION. Of course thought and talk are important but if they don't translate into some form of action the point is lost. 'Willingness without action is fantasy.' That 'morph' from the intangible to the tangible becomes a sentient trigger that propels me into an entirely different frame of mind and the important thing is that 'change'. If I choose to remain idle I feel useless and become bogged down in the mess.
While the world at large sometimes seems to be going to hell in a handbasket and life doesn't always appear to be turning out as I would like there is always (too) cause for hope, and optimism, and gratitude, and happiness. Life may not be a bowl of cherries but it is also a long way from being the pits.
That is all that comes to mind for now - I might chip in on this topic again.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20081004.BKREAD04//TPStory/Entertainment
The article is a good read and she gives a synopsis of three books written by people who have lived with mental illness. I read, back when it was released, Mark Vonnegut's 'Eden Express' and appreciated the courage and honesty that went into the writing of it.
....................................................................................................................................
.....but as to the 'further musings', a couple of other things occurred to me so indulge me for a few minutes here.
As to the seasonal change effect... for myself I think it simply has to do with the transition into a time of year that I don't like. Autumn I can handle but it is full of foreboding about the fact that winter is in the offing. Winter seems to me to last FOREVER..... and can't be over soon enough. I don't believe I suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.) but I'm mindful of it's existence. As a preventative measure I start to push vitamin D at this time of year along with B complex.
On a different tack some of us are more sensitive to media input than others; I become in part what I watch, read and hear. Make any sense?? There are a couple of threads to this, one of which is application of the Serenity Prayer which helps me differentiate between those things that are within my control from those that aren't.... period. I have a choice to make. I can either continue to follow the big issues and fret over them - elections here and south of the border, global financial disasters, etc, etc.... or I can tune out ostrich-like and change the channel or shut the damned thing off. Buy in or opt out. Simple. Watch the comedy channel or listen to some music; go for a walk. Unrelenting, prolonged periods of stress kill me.
Beyond perhaps casting a vote I can't do much about those 'big' issues mentioned above and in my previous post I detailed some ways I combat or try to prevent the crunch. What I didn't spell out while talking about the thought process and the benefits of talking with others about these sorts of concerns is the necessity of ACTION. Of course thought and talk are important but if they don't translate into some form of action the point is lost. 'Willingness without action is fantasy.' That 'morph' from the intangible to the tangible becomes a sentient trigger that propels me into an entirely different frame of mind and the important thing is that 'change'. If I choose to remain idle I feel useless and become bogged down in the mess.
While the world at large sometimes seems to be going to hell in a handbasket and life doesn't always appear to be turning out as I would like there is always (too) cause for hope, and optimism, and gratitude, and happiness. Life may not be a bowl of cherries but it is also a long way from being the pits.
That is all that comes to mind for now - I might chip in on this topic again.
posted by Norm at 10/05/2008 02:10:00 AM
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