The last month has been full, and I mean FULL, of lessons taught. . . I say “taught” because I’m not sure I’ve learned them all. I’ll find out if and when they come around again and I’ll see if I handle things differently or not. If you’re subscribed to my weekly updates, you know that my mom has breast cancer and had surgery last Monday. The majority of the lessons taught, have come my way during the time prior and post her surgery. This is only a partial list. . . I’ll share more on this wee’s MID-WEEK BOOST!
Lessons Taught:
- Life as I know it, can change with the utterance of a simple sentence: Whether it’s good or bad news, a few simple words strung together can turn your life around. . . Once the words are said, it is up to us to figure out how to live with the news. . . that’s where the real work begins and the full impact of the sentences are revealed. Deep breaths and doing all I can to stay focused and centered in my core stillness has been key in keeping me close to sane. . .
- Worrying is a ridiculous waste of EVERY THING: Oh boy . . . I’ve never been one to worry too much about things but in the last month or so, I was sucked in and did lots of it. I’ve realized that worrying is an evil thing! It does absolutely nothing worthwhile. It’s a waste of time and energy and the more I did it, the worse I felt! Time spent worrying is time that could be better spent doing anything else. . . something productive, creative, or fun! Seriously, take it from someone that just came out of a worrying spell . . . DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME DOING THIS!! Like the famous quote says: WORRY NEVER ROBS TOMORROW OF ITS SORROW, IT ONLY SAPS TODAY OF ITS JOY.
- In times of life challenges, what the mind can come up with, most of the time, is a million times worse than the actual situation: I can’t begin to tell you how many outrageous scenarios of gloom and doom my mind was able to conjure up. To the point where I felt paralyzed by fear and of course, this is all tied in to the worrying part of the equation of SUCKAGE. You worry. Your mind comes up with things to allow you to continue to worry or worry even more. Then you worry again, plus are fearful that what you’re imagining is really what’s going to happen and it’s an endless cycle, endless cycle, endless cycle. . . My remedy for this, was to not allow myself to entertain negative, disruptive and false thoughts. I wasn’t easy. Especially if you go on the internet and look up things!! That’s a sure-fire way to allow worry and fear to run rampant. Our thoughts, if not controlled and made to focus on the good and positive, will try and scare the crap out of us. And once fear comes in, the battle for sanity can get even harder to win BUT, it is not impossible!!
- We are stronger than we think we are: This is so true. I saw it the way my mother handled the news of having breast cancer and in the way she faced her surgery. She was pure strength. In my own case, I didn’t think I could go through with all of it without losing my mind. I’ve never been one to handle hospitals and surgeries and blood with a good attitude. So far, dealing with my mother’s personality has been the hardest part of it all. The stuff that scared me, not so much. We carry within us a strength that we can always tap into and use . . . it’s there. . . believe me. I promise you.
- No matter what’s going on around you and what kind of fresh hell you think you’re going through, you always have a choice: This was not as easy to swallow as some of the other lessons. There were a few days there where I wanted to just wallow in self-pity and I cursed my life. There was one weekend where I cried so much that towards the end, I thought I’d broken something because I was dry. . . not a tear would come out. I then looked for the shitty parts of my life and watched a few of them multiply. Who needs that? It wasn’t until I practically FORCED myself to think different thoughts, that I started to feel better and as a result, the things around me weren’t as horrible as I’d imagined. . . I was able to cope. . . But, I had to really FORCE myself to make the choice. . . I had to decide whether I wanted to stay in SUCKVILLE or feel better even if, believe it or not, feeling better felt harder to do. Why is that? I don’t really know the answer to that one, so, if you do, please leave it in the comments below. . . Why do we sometimes prefer to feel like shit instead of doing something to make ourselves feel better?
Anyway, those are a few of the lessons taught . . . I’m hoping I’ve gotten some of them down or at least, I’ll be able to take responsibility for my own actions the next time they come around. Life is a full-time class where the learning and lessons never stop. . . and you know what, there’s nothing we can do about it except be as present as possible while in this schoolroom and take as much of it in as we can. Happy learning to all of us!!
I’m a Spiritual-Pop Artist and the founder and editor of this space, The Whirling Blog. I’m obsessed with color, getting people to love themselves, being creative and getting myself to HAPPY!
Twitter: @TheWhirlingGene
Facebook: The Whirling Blog & Gene-Manuel
Art: GENE-MANUELART.COM
