My neighbor for the last four years has recently gotten divorced and lost his house to foreclosure. I have been chatting with him on and off for the last two months encouraging him to see the challenge from a new perspective. I am sure you will be shocked to know that he didn't listen to me. Of course sticking my nose in my neighbors business I should know better, but I saw him in pain and was hopeful I could speed his recovery. Resilience is important for good mental health. When we become so focused on our pain all we can talk about is; "this is going wrong", "that is going wrong" and "woes is me life just isn't going my way", we stop being flexible. Looking at life from this perspective leads to a dark place full of pointy rocks that you constantly step or fall on. Lots to complain about but nothing to live for! I have been here and done that and it is no fun, trust me. Learning to roll with life has so many gifts I can't even list them all here, so just to name a few big ones happiness, joy, better relationships, and happy people want to hang out with happy people.
Do you like the idea of resilience? Challenge yourself to be more flexible about something/someone you feel negatively about and see how it feels. Do you feel better or worse not feeling negatively towards ...?
Greta Jaeger, LPC, CPLC
(404) 259-1335
Greta, you are right on point. It took a second but I personally had to take a situation where I saw wrong doing and turn those into feelings that allowed me to realize that we all make mistakes and what we do after the mistake is made is what really matters. Life is so short and its great to have appreciation for the good things and the good people around you. Keep doing what you are doing...everyone should be so blessed to have a nosey neighbor who even cares enough to snoop. Thats whats missing these days genuine neighborly love, care and concern for one another.
ReplyDelete