Tag: writing

Snap out of it.

Sometimes I take a moment to look back over my life thinking about old experiences – reviewing old journal entries and/or posts, and smile as I identify eras of my life where I just seemed to have it together. I stood strong in my values and beliefs, I had consistent outside enjoyable interests, as well as external relationships I sowed into, built and maintained. To me, these were eras of victory, eras of flourishing.

An era of victory definitely was NOT what I’ve been feeling over the past few weeks. I actually found myself in a bit of a funk – feeling defeated, feeling lonely, feeling less than enough due to feeling so far from some of the goals and desires I currently have or imagined I’d attain by this point in my life. These feelings were dragging me down. My thoughts were, I want to be healthier, I want a life outside of work, I want to be better off financially, and honestly, I just want to like myself again.  

I was in a rut that was not only affecting myself, my thinking, my energy, my mental capabilities (being more negative vs positive), but I also identified that I was bickering more frequently with those I love. I found that I was highly critical of them and myself, and I just lacked bounce back. When a fiery dart from the enemy was thrown at me by way of a personal or professional hiccup or misunderstanding, I totally left my shield of faith by my side vs igniting that tool to combat those snares.

In seeking a way to snap out of it, I recognized some things that were missing from my life that I could do to assist with escaping the “rut”. I could partake in estimable acts – things that I enjoy that make me feel good about me such as walking, journaling, or signing up and ATTENDING a course of interest. I also identified that during this time there was a deficit in how I was treating myself – no regular sleep or eating pattern, lacking water and physical activity, just not being good to me.

I’ve heard often that when you look good you feel good. It’s easy to think that the “looking good” refers to our outside (physical traits) but for me, looking good entails looking good from the inside out. I strongly believe both have a positive effect on feeling good.

As these things have been revealed to me through seeking guidance from the Lord and taking an honest look at myself, cause and effect has been revealed, now is the time for action, taking the necessary steps to feel good about me. So, here we go…

Staying encouraged, I pray the same for you!

Disrupt discord.

Have you ever experienced a season where lines of communication were just off? You and someone you hold near and dear just cannot seem to be on the same page. Jokes or trying to take something lightly are taken the wrong way, whether it’s coming from you or them. Then feelings are hurt and silence or off attitudes begin to develop. This is a prime example of discord trying to plant a seed, and it sucks.

Discord will make you feel like you’re on an island on your own and cannot trust nor share honest feelings with those who have been proven to be tried and true. This then leads to either giving the cold shoulder, cutting off all reasonable communication, or even worse, going off, engaging in an argument, and saying things you’ll later regret.

When things seem off and discord takes root, it has the potential to strain and ruin even the best of relationships. In my experience, to avoid this from happening, it is best to take these moments with a grain of salt vs taking them to heart. You never know what someone is going through which may not have anything to do with you but can cause things to be taken a certain way. Or perhaps your approach or how you’re presenting your words are laced with a hint of something “off”, whether it’s tone or whatever (intentional or not).

To avoid lasting damage and hurt feelings, what I’ve experienced and found to help is lots of grace – me giving even more than the amount that I am seeking. You can also partake in silent walk-aways vs saying something you’ll later possibly regret – you can apologize but once words are out (leave the mouth gate), they are out there, risking the chance to wreak havoc, causing considerable damage.

No relationship is perfect, and no person is perfect. Views/perceptions change; feelings/emotions change, so when/if you sense something is off in communication with those you hold near and dear, it’s worth taking a pause, not assuming the worst, and guarding your mouth and actions from potential relational damage.

I am diligently working on walking this out… Staying encouraged, I hope you are as well!