…..Where there is a way, there is always a struggle!!
I wish somebody had told me when I was young that growing up was going to be filled
with so many struggles. I wish there was a guide book that gave options on how to
solve problems and tell us what is right and what is wrong.
The truth of the matter is that everyone has to grow up and everyone has to face
the struggle. The everyday so-called routine is not routine at all without these
struggles. Whenever we hear someone say, “ I’m lost”, or “I’m struggling with my
current problem”, we are more than happy to give lists of things that they could do to
help themselves out of that fix. But when it comes to our own life, we hit a dead-end!
Especially during these pandemic times, everyone is a problem-solver, everyone has
perspective that will change the world. Social media makes it even harder to accept
that our life has hit a dead-end. The ever smiling faces, the new hobbies they have
acquired and mastered, the tricks they have learnt to make themselves ‘happy’ - all
these look fabulous for a while and then reality hits and we go -‘Why am I like this?’.
October 10th is celebrated as World Mental health day and rest assured there will
be many articles or posts that will show you a new way of life and make you feel even
downer than you normally feel. On this mental health day, I want to accept that I am
a mess and I don’t mind being a mess. Once in a while we have to allow ourselves to
plonk ourselves on the couch or lay flat on the floor and throw tantrums. So what if I
lose my cool and not behave like a sophisticated adult that the world expects me to
be. I want to be a child and throw a tantrum and cry about my problems. I want to say
I don’t know what to do and scream like a toddler. I want to have someone listen to
me and wait for me to calm down and then say ‘Go ahead and cry more if you want, it’s
ok to cry.’
Mental health is not only about doing things that will
help you solve problems, it also includes venting out. On this mental health day, let’s
do that, let’s talk about venting out by crying, screaming, throwing tantrums, plonking
on the couch, eating ice-creams and watching romantic movies with tragic end and cry
our heart out. Let’s be a child and keep nothing inside. When your laptop hangs due to
excessive usage, we restart it. We don’t sit and talk to it or ask it to come up with
other programs that can help it reduce the over-work.
Let’s be a mess this world mental health day, and let’s help others be a mess too.
When you are done being a mess, tell yourself how proud you are about it. You had
the courage to do something that the world hesitates to be. When you feel this
extraordinary sense of accomplishment, you will get the courage to handle any
struggles that you have in your life. Be a mess and be proud of it!
