Sunday Morning Positive Perks from your Sassy Small Town Missus
It is never too late…
“For what it’s worth: it’s never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald. That is the beginning of a great positive message that I lean on often. Drink up each message in this quote like it is life’s tonic of hope and possibilities. Kinda like, it’s not over until it’s over.
The month of May being Mental Illness Awareness Month, it is not lost on me that this quote comes from a man who suffered from alcoholism his entire life and was married to a woman who suffered from mental illness that eventually left her hospitalized at the end of her life.
I wish he could have experienced the wisdom of his words. No matter who you are, you have had struggles, perhaps physical, emotional or both. To that extent you can laugh or cry – make the best of it or the worst of it.
There are times to cry because we need to be able to feel grief, strife, anxiety in order to truly appreciate and feel gratitude for the good times. The trick is not to let those times of despair take control in a way that life seems hopeless.
For me, I use laughter a lot. Whether I see someone struggling or am struggling myself, I feel compelled to create a light-hearted moment. Laughter truly is the best medicine. You can not buy it at the pharmacy, but if you are lucky enough you can pop that top off your own inner bottle any time and feel the anguish slip away, even if only for a moment. I pray everyone can do that.
F. Scott brings home the point that we are all capable of creating a life we are proud of. If not yesterday, then today is a new day and tomorrow is full of hope and possibilities. If you suffer from mental illness I heard that one of the best things to do is create moments to look forward to. Perhaps a long walk in a beautiful park, a home cooked meal with family, a concert, special cuddle time with your dog, game night with your friends, reacquainting yourself with a movie that always made you smile.
To have nothing to look forward to or aspire to, creates a lonely and sad space in your brain. Start creating spaces that are full of daydreams and dreams come true. Joyful moments, creating memories and carving out a plan to make you proud of yourself is a powerful motivator in creating self worth. And as long as you are breathing in life’s beautiful air, you can choose to stay the same if that sameness brings you joy!
Or you can choose to find purpose and make positive changes that will bring you joy. Maybe you need the help and kindness of others. That is totally appropriate and nothing to be ashamed of because we all need help sometimes and truth be told, sometimes those helping reap the greatest rewards. Pack your pride away and reach out when needed, because there is always light at the end of the tunnel. Sometimes you need to put your binoculars on to see it… but trust it is there. What do you look forward to?
