Monday, December 19, 2011

Slow down and let the rush hour pass



Slow down when you're rushing about when you actually have no need to be so occupied. Take time think through your actions before you rush headlong into the next adventure. The rush hour just so happens to be Christmas shopping on this particular day.

Only five more days until Christmas is enough to cause a stamped of shoppers out to buy their gifts, to rush home get dressed for a party and on and on and on. There no harm in all this if it does not cause anxiety, stress, depression and anger.

You can tone down your frenzy to a comfortable level simply by taking five or ten minutes a day to meditate on the real purpose of Christmas. In other words, talk it over with Him and then listen carefully for the answers. They may not be immediate, but they will come. A smile, or a word of encouragement may do more than all that pushing and shoving to get everything wrapped and in place under the tree.

The tree? Oh you forgot about that. That's okay, then you'll have time to to sit quietly and think about the beautiful tree you'd like to have with gifts for all the world's children under it. In lieu of that say a prayer for them. Then quietly go out and calmly buy a few gifts for a few needy youngsters with the money you'd have spent on a tree and its decorations. Enjoy the good feeling. That's the Christmas spirit taking hold of you. It's real so appreciate the real thing, but do it quietly and respectfully.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Keeping busy


Doldrums don't stay around my place long. No sooner than I begin feeling let down and put upon, misunderstood and unloved, I think of all my blessings! And without even meaning too, I've forgotten what it was that was invading my thoughts in a few short minutes.

I've made a discovery about the blahs, this state of mind comes about only when we are thinking so much about ourselves we cannot think of others who may need something from us, it's called selfishness. It latches onto all of us from time to time.

The cure? Get beyond your own self importance and know that's its a fable. Leave those self-defeating thoughts where they belong in the trash can. If they haven't made you rich by now, they probably won't. If you're afraid of getting caught being the plain, ordinary, run of the mill person that you are, but the one you admire the most, think this way: You're most important in the eyes of the creator and He loves you as you are. Had He wanted you the way you think you ought to be, He would have created you that way. Be yourself and cut through all the heavy pretensions you've been carrying around.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Always be thankful and give God the credit


Being thankful doesn't have to wait until Thanksgiving. It starts the first thing in the morning. You're thankful you're alive, that you don't feel worse than you do, that you have food for breakfast, that yo have something useful to do and on and on the morning thankfulness goes. But you don't thank yourself but you thank your creator for having created you in the very special way He did.

The next thing you do is to believe what you say. In fact it would be perfectly meaningless to say thank
to the face that glares back at you from the mirror as you brush your teeth each morning.One reason is sometimes, and more often than not, that look isn't much to be thankful for. Be thankful that God sees something far more beautiful and if you listen carefully when you're least expecting it, He'll tell you.

Just forget about yourself and do the best job you can do each day. And thank God for the privilege. And give them the credit. Let him do with it what needs to be done. Life is that simple! Of course it isn't easy, but it's quite simple when we don't complicate it.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Halloween: What's it all about?


Halloween is that time of the year when the summer crops are over, when the new growth of spring has not lived up to its promise of life everlasting for those wishing it were so, and when the truth of it all can no longer be hidden, or wished away.

It means once again hopes and desires must be packed away and winter, that bleak time of year that one must prepare for, is soon approaching. That's the reality of Halloween in all its starkness. It's a stretch of the truth that that summer is over, school has started and and the work of preparing for winter has begun.

Why all the hullabaloo about ghosts and goblins and dressing up as freaks and monsters? Is it just to pacify the children are are there some real truths hidden in these shenanigans? I suppose it all depends on what you hold sacred, God or his opponents.

Spirits roam the earth, as I believe it, and they don't wait for one particular time of the year to stake out their claims. They live alongside us day by day either coaxing us to do good or trying to steer us in the other direction. Sometimes we give in and follow the bad ones, and sometimes we listen to the good one.

Church wise, Halloween is either outright ignored by some religions or is celebrated by some as all soul's day. They recognize that good and evil are at war over who is going to win over the other. In other words, they recognize that that all those who've died are not saintly and are probably still around trying to gain over the living.

The Catholic Church celebrates All Saints Day on November 1st to honor all those who managed to get out if he clutches of the evil doers. Yet what does all this have to do with the horrendous celebrations going on?

It's a game. People have put together bits and pieces of legends from out of the past to chase fear away and to while away time. The business community decided to make money from the events and there you have the horrendous outfits and the absurdity of the season. It's all earth bound garbage floating around.

But just in case, I.m keeping my door locked tight!

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Have nothing to say, then keep quiet!


You don't have to be talking all the time, when you have nothing to say, just keep quiet. When the time comes and you've settled down a bit, words will present themselves. In place of words a smile is often better anyway. It says volumes about what you've forgotten to say.

And too, listening is far better than talking non-stop. If someone wants to know what you're thinking they can ask. But that does not mean you must begin a long winded dissertation on why you can't recall the fabulous things you dreamed of saying to whomever asked. No one cares about that and will wonder why you think it's important enough to tell them.

Mental health is as much about knowing when to keep quiet and when to shout from the housetops. Of course finding yourself on the housetop, unless you're Santa Claus and it's Christmas or patching a leaky roof or cleaning the gutters, is definitely an unhealthy thing to do and may cause your neighbors to talk. Just email them the news,its safer and when they delete it without reading it you'll never know it and your feelings won't be hurt.

Until you can remember those words you want to tell the world, keep smiling. : )

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Share Your Good Fortune

Sharing your good fortune does not mean you must give away your money foolishly to every beggar that comes along, nor need you sing to the housetop ever glad tiding that comes your way. (Your friends and neighbors may have the same glad tidings but see them in their language.)It means when you know for sure that sharing what you know will advance some cause that benefits humanity, you must get it out there where it will do the most good.

Examples are:

1. You are a scientist who has the capability of advancing the cure for a certain disease, but you want to make sure you get credit for it and you want to not only be recognized for your generous contribution, you want to get rich off it. You're on the wrong track maybe, maybe not. With that kind of thinking, what you know is probably worthless, anyway.

You're thinking as man/women thinks and that is often far below what is necessary to cure an ailing world as sick as ours is. Before you make any claims and rush out to get ahead of competitors, talk it over with your creator. He will guide you in the right paths and what's more, you'll be compensated far above anything you could have imagined while thinking alone. But it will be done His way.

2. You are a writer and a lover of words. You've always been but for some reason you aren't taken seriously. Should that bother you to the point that it keeps you from writing down those thoughts that possibly others will find useful. Absolutely not. You have no idea what wandering soul out there in this vast land of confusion will be uplifted by what you have to say. You dare then to speak, write, to make a fool of yourself whenever you have a notion to.

3. You are you and in your eyes you're no one. You want to be like others more chic, more elegant, less blundering and uncouth. Understand that they too have the same doubts, longings, but have settled for who they are. You can do the same. In this way you will find those hidden gems your Creator stashed away until that time when you were able mentally to grasp their importance.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Counting our blessings


Sometimes it's easier to go along with the crowd and agree that the world situation is beyond hope. A better approach will be to find something hopeful to promote. That little spark may be all that's needed to spur action toward a more hopeful attitude. Make an effort to be positive and soon it will become a habit.

Examples of how we can help lift the gloom and doom of a depressed society are for the asking:

1. Refuse to add to gossip

2. Put in a good word that will counteract a slur against another person; Do the best job we know how to do and find ways of doing it even better.

3. Keep our promises to the best of our ability

4. Act our age. That means if we are teenagers, then it's alright to act like one. We've a lot to learn and we shouldn't be expected to think and act as adults. On the other hand if we're old, it's ridiculous to dress and to behave as we did when teens. That tells the world, as well as ourselves, we've learned little.

5. Yet, at any age, it's all right to have fun, and it's alright to speak your mind but you must accept the consequences for doing so.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Being negative is a bad habit


Think positive is something one learns and is not something that comes naturally. Looking on the bright side of issues takes practice but it pays off in many ways. Rather than first deciding what is wrong with your something, first find out what's right about it. That will put you in a better frame of mind and will allow for positive improvements. In everyday talk this is seen as the glass being half empty or half full.

This half empty or half full approach to life opens up avenues of thought that lead on to more positive thinking or, in the case of negativity, more blockage of good ideas. If, as an example, we see the glass as half full, all we can think of is how long will it take before it will be empty. Translate that negative reaction into everyday experiences and, as an example, you have these dark and gloomy questions: How much longer do I have to live, how can I make this small paycheck last until the next payday and how can I convince others I am right?

Looking at the same idea with a positive outlook will bring about not how much time I have to live, but what I am to do with this moment, this minute, this hour and let the time take care of itself. Too, instead of fretting over low wages, think positively and find creative ways of making the money last longer, creative ways of earning, and thankfulness for even having a job.

Trying to convince others you're right isn't a problem if you don't allow it to be. Convince yourself that you're right and let the chips fall the chips fall where thet fall. But too, being positive, isn't being hard headed. If you're wrong, be positive and say so and find out what the real truth is.

Thursday, August 25, 2011


Healthy eating habits


How we think about food says a lot about our attitude toward food in general. Do we view as the necessity for physical and mental health, as it surely is, or do we relate it to likes and dislikes? Taste and food preferences is important but it does not override the reason food is eaten. Food is a life preserver; a promoter of healthy life styles; a winner in the fight for longevity; an exciting adventure to be. If is not the reason to live thinking that's puts food at the top of our daily things to do, it is living because of food that counts.

In other words, don't live to eat, but eat to live is an old adage that makes sense out of how we think of food. In 2010, The FDA renamed its pyramid food program to My Plate. Presumably they did this to make it your plate and not theirs, and yes, possibly they wanted to be seen as less regimental. They answer questions such as: How do I learn about food groups; information about any particular food; will help you create a personal eating plan; teach you healthy eating habits,how to lose weight, help you plan your menus; they will analyze your diet and tell you where it fails and where it is right.

The image:
It's mine. Another oldie that somehow managed to escape the trash pile. I bought the over-sized table from a junk shop and was proud of it although it took up more room in my small kitchen I could afford to utilize. Wanting to smear a little paint around one day, found nothing else to paint but one corner of this table. Although I lived alone, Fruit bowls with real fruit were a big part of my decorating scheme.

What happened to the table? It disappeared in the move from there to here and I suspect the movers decided I had no room for it in my new place. Hopefully some happy family is now eating their veggies and fruits and healthy food off it. I refrain from mentioning the name of the movers since I love them as much as they love me but their last initial starts with an S. Eat well everyone, it will make a difference in your life.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Control your expectations




Expectations can get you in trouble if they aren't revised from time to time. Remember when you were a child and you expected everything to be perfect when you grew up and away from parents that controlled your every moment,or seemed to. Compare that to being grown up and to knowing that none of the childhood expectations came true, and rightly so.

The point I'm trying to make is that expectations must be whittled down to fit the age of the person. If this were not so, the world would be in a poorer shape than it is now in. And they must be realistic. No longer can we did as children make wishes. We accept the good things that are naturally in front of our eyes if we would only open them and take a good look.

What is a reasonable expectation for a college student? That they will by studying hard, attending all the classes, watching their finances, being kind to old folks and helping them cross the street if necessary, listening to their professor's instructions, calling home at regular intervals to tell the old folks they love them and not to just ask for money,graduate and will in due time find a job.

Older people don't expect much, but when any goodness comes their way, they are most often the happiest people on earth. Why? Because they've learned the secret of life, accepting rather than expecting. It works every time. They look around and see the goodness all around and are amazed at what they've done during their lifetime. They couldn't have planned it that well.
They've discovered what they have is exactly what they want. There are exceptions of course, there is heartache, sadness, but they accept that too. It is God's world and they are happy that he is in charge.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Prayerful Listening


The title today concerns how to listen to directions from God instead of always petitioning him for your wants. And I admit the idea came to me from another source other than prayer. On Sunday, July 17 I was reading the meditations from The Word Among Us on page 58 of the meditations for July and August 2011.

On this day their meditations came from Romans 8:26 , The spirit helps us in our weakness. Their introductory sentence takes up the way most people pray, petitioning God for something or other. And as they say, that's okay too, since He wants us to be happy,"But there's another form of prayer that is just as valuable and just as necessary to our spiritual lives: the prayer that listens for God's wisdom and revelation."

When I read that I got that that aha feeling. In a somewhat different way that's what I've been thinking and doing for a long time. I'd simply never thought to give words to the notion that sometimes it's always best to let Him have it His way. In other words when our day isn't panning out as we'd planned instead of praying that the particular mood of the situation that is 'letting us down' will turn in our favor, we accept it and allow it and go on from there.

And often, on down the road, we'll see how that particular point in time coincides with something greater, and more appropriate in our lives. Had we not stood still and quietly listened and offered whatever discomfort and annoyance we endured for Him to put it toward His purpose rather than our own, we would have missed far greater opportunities.

My awareness of not always wanting my own way was not born out of quiet solitude, however. And in fact, in one way or another it's always been with me since in my life there were scarcely any options other than those that presented themselves. What I did not do, however, was talk about my inner most feelings. Not being a particularly outwardly religious person in that I seldom joined in on heated discussions about this or that, but deep down I knew where I stood.

My frustrations ran deep when people blamed God for everything to crop failure to a rain ruining their picnic. Let's pray for no rain on Sunday so we can get together and have a jolly old time, and other such unworthy prayers always left me thinking, don't they understand it rains where it rains and why waste His time with such petitions;He runs the world His way and the best we can do is listen to that small still voice inside us to see how best we can help.

The older I got, the more I listened. But in all that time I never ran into an exact sentence that spelled out listening as a form of prayer. Of course everyone is supposed to know that is the general assumption. But sometimes, as the author of that particular meditation knew, it needs be said. Far too many aren't listening.

How does this fit into mental health? In every way possible. Instead of getting all tangled into chaos when our plans go awry, lets be more acceptable to His way. What this does is open the door to pathways of thinking hitherto unknown. Inspirations and opportunities await those who are brave enough to throw open their hearts, ears, eyes to Him.

An example to illustrate what I mean: I love to write. I've always written. A few years ago, however, I was tired and I quit. I vividly remember telling Him, I quit, if you want me to write again,I will, but it will have to be your way. For five years now, my writing has taken on new meanings to me. Yet, I've never forgotten that it all depends on Him.

When I come to those time when I have to decide whether I will write what I know the editors want to hear or what will further my standing with them or what I know He wants me to say, He wins.

Of course I have no assurance I am right, but when I do and say, even in my ignorance, what I believe is best, I am sure He understands and makes allowances. It creates fewer problems later on.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Excessive Criticism can be controlled


We all know people who never seem satisfied with others.Their every action is open to the whims of the person who sees what's wrong with the rest of the world but never admits their part.

The truth is, none of us are perfect. One way of dealing with the annoyances of others and their failings is to recognize that ours are as big in their eyes and it may be they are kinder and care more for our feelings than they do for having others see things their way.

To go through life nit picking and looking for flaws in others is surely to increase our own. That is so because the time we're looking at our neighbors in a critical way, is time wasted in working on our own flaws and trying to improve on ourselves.

We are the only person we will truly ever know, but if we don't make the effort 'to see ourselves as others see us' (Robert Burns)and to come to terms with it, then how can we walk on in this world toward a better one?

Of course it hurts to admit the truth sometimes, but once we've forced ourselves to do it, then we are able to attempt ways of improving on our faults. The first step, however, is in seeing ourselves as flawed as the person we criticize, or that is criticizing us, and letting it go no further than it need go.

Love yourself enough to see yourself in every person you meet. For better or for worse.

Friday, July 1, 2011

The healing power of love


The healing power of power of love is potentially a never emptying cup of goodness bequeathed to us from our Creator. And yet, this greatest of all emotions is so tainted with wrong use today, it is hardly recognizable.

How can it be retrieved? First of all we must know what it means in its entirety? We must know how to recognize it within ourselves and to allow it to guide us to our better selves. And most important of all, we must know what it is not, and to know to turn around and not get splashed with its power to rob us of our sense of self.

What exactly am I talking about in the above paragraph. Sex is biological, love too has it biological seat within our brain but it is where real love resides. The more we examine our capacity to love even when there is no obvious reason we should -- as society dictates -- the stronger will be our resolve to love and not hate.

Hate blinds us to everything except the object that we blame for all our problems. Mental health dictates that we first overcome our hatred of others, and if we don't yet have the capacity to love those that despise us and wish us harm, we can at least learn to tolerate them.

The image? I scribbled this on a sheet of paper one day, for I know not why not, but searching through my collection for an illustration, the thought that love has the power to conquer darkness. No matter how depressed or hopeless the situation that surround us appears to be, love can break through that. In other words, no matter how dark the night, dawn follows with it hope for a brighter day.

Monday, June 27, 2011

Acting your age

Acting your age is a wise old saying that seems to have fallen by the roadside. What does it mean actually? Does it mean that at certain ages one has to stop having fun, stop associating with younger people, and be seventy when you feel more like fifty? Absolutely not, The younger you feel,the better; thats how you apply the truth of that old saying is to more carefully pick and choose your actions.

Teenagers can get by with a lot more when they and goofy and seem out of bounds than the 30 or 40-year-old person. The reason for that is that people know teenagers still have a lot to learn, and they have rightly or wrongly assumed that those who have lived longer have already learned this lesson.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Regular breaks from daily routine

Allowing yourself to get into a rut is not what mental wellness is all about. It is easy to program your time so effectively there's no time for fun, adventure, and a different viewpoint. Vacations take care of this annually, but setting aside a few minutes here and there and deliberately changing routine keeps the brain cells active and awake.

When you catch yourself being overly critical of the younger set, as an example, stop and take a second look at why they do what they do, and as stated in the last Mental Health Viewpoint, give them the benefit of the doubt. Or if you find your older friends are likewise too critical, suggest that maybe when you were young, you too were problematic to the more adult groups.

Whatever, changing your habits on a regular basis, is good for your mental health. Thinking new thoughts is exercise for the brain, as physical action is exercise for the physical body.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Giving others the benefit of doubt


When thinking internally, listening into our own thoughts we think we know so well, we often forget that others may be seeing those same thoughts we are thinking upon in a different light. They see them through their own personal made-to-order lenses presented to them at birth and equipped for their own use. Not to say this is right or wrong, but it is the way it is.

How then can we expect them to readily understand what we pitch to them through conversation and everyday chitchat at home or at the office, in the classroom, at the doctor's office or where ever? We can't really. The best we can do is to talk to them as intelligently as possible and ask questions and learn from them as they also will learn form us.

Most people try to be on the safe side and keep their verbal quips to areas that are safe and commonly held. That is understandable, but it does little toward better understanding of mental health topics that need a wider audience, and also is in dire need of a more accepting audience.

One in particular, and is the topic of this brief observation about mental health viewpoints, is giving others the benefit of the doubt. How do we actually know what their thoughts and feelings unless they tell us outright?

The mistake often made is assuming they think this way about us or our beliefs, when in actuality, they often don't think much about it one way or another. They, like us, are taken up with their own thoughts and ideas and unless others' ideas get in their way, are seldom thought upon.

Furthering that topic, giving them the benefit of the doubt, we might assume they are doing one thing or saying one thing, when we don't know. Until we know for sure they are backbiting and talking behind our backs and in general, doing us harm, it is best to believe they are not. This is the mental health way of giving them the benefit of the doubt!

In a world where assumptions are a dime a dozen, who can afford to buy into their shoddy deals? Know the facts—if they are worth knowing— before we go off the deep end and make fools of ourselves. Most of us are big enough fools without heaping more trash on ourselves. Therefore the caution is, look before you leap; think we act.

Monday, June 6, 2011

Art as a healing aid



Art as a healing mechanism.

Art is a great way to deal with those troubling thoughts and problems of life. Yet art need not be an all out affair where we paint, or sculpt, or take up dancing professionally, or join a singing group, unless of course we are so specially talented we must; but the kind of art that is healing is the kind that gets us in contact with our better natures. As an example, yesterday I wrote an article for Helium "Christian parables in art" and while writing it I somehow renewed my own lagging sense of art as a way to life one above the mundane and routine matters that we face daily. gave me a lot to think about as I was writing it

"This type of art can is common today and artists who are closely tuned in to the world of God find numerous ways of sharing their work. All types of art can be dedicated to Christian principles and each will have their own unique idea, or parable. That special nature of art — of whatever source — is to penetrate to the depth of the psyche and elicit feelings and thoughts. Genuine art, contrary to popular belief, is not necessarily pretty nor should it always be pleasing; genuine art brings to the forefront deeply felt feelings held the artist."

The Image: Confession time: It was borrowed from Flickr. Yet, I somehow felt it had something to say about life in this world as it is being tossed about by the weather. That must have lots to say about how the wayward life we are now living, since every action, good or bad, has a reaction.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Reacting to disappointments



How we react to disappointments in our daily lives says a lot about how mentally healthy we are. Do we accept them as clouds with silver linings or do we fret, nag, feel depressed, or blame others. Are we able to glean truths from them that will be lessons for tomorrow, or are we so dense that we believe we are always right.

Naturally we’re depressed and downsized when disaster strikes and it’s hard to be pleasant about much of anything, but for sanity’s sake we must believe there’s a reason behind these that’s beyond our understanding. That is not the point we want to make here, but first a moment of silence for the Joplin, Missouri disaster victims and their families. (++++++++++++)

Accepting everything that comes our way without getting too steamed up over success or failure goes a long way in creating balances in our lives. And balance is what mental health is all about. Did not the Creator program our life that way? Day and night, warm and cold, high and low, good and bad, are part of our existence, and so is happy and sad, joy and heartbreak, knowledge and ignorance and so on the teeter-totter of life goes.

Why this subject today? I am a writer and recently I wrote an article I was extremely proud of having written. And yes, I was aware that it might meet with a few raised eyebrows, but I believed in my words and I forged ahead, believing it would be accepted by the editors. Well it didn’t go over well. I was asked to rewrite and not to editorialize so much.

How did I accept it? I was disappointed but I reread the article and I decided to leave it as it is. I absolutely have no interest in making it more professional! It deserves better than its designated first time out venture, I told myself. I told myself that while at the same time I knew I could be wrong. But overall I understood the matter to be of small importance.

You win some and you lose some! I give that only as an example of how to accept these daily little annoyances ¬— and that’s all they are — and not let them take up more of your precious time than they deserve.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Time never stands still nor repeats itself


It's good to look back and see where we've been years after we were there, but to do so with regrets cancels out the positive reason for looking back. It was neither better or worse than now, the difference is the age we were then. Of course we wrote bad poetry, thought we knew more than we did, but we were younger. Today, years hence, we've learned more and if it advanced us further in our journey, good; if it didn't stop fretting and get on the right path toward the direction you were meant to go. And of course, good mental health is the goal of everyone,isn't it?

PS:
The at the seashore accompanies a poem Bad? Of course not. It was right for me at the time I wrote it. Since it isn't dated I can only say it probably was twenty years ago, maybe longer, maybe sooner.
The Words:

Perfect feet rotating / sands of time at intervals of three. / Without bonding. / [what did I mean by that? don't remember] Sending back oceans of truth, / leaving no trace, no path to tell, / where you wade and where you turn / and swoop upward
to the other side: / Starting life anew, / telling nothing of what you plan to do./ Scrub brush in tow/ where you dump. / only the morning after will show.

Thoughts now? No comments only to say were I writing that today I would change some of the wording. Why didn't I? That would make the whole effort of Mental Health Viewpoints a lie. What would I gain, and really, who cares? Those were my thoughts then when I tried to do a water color of earth, ocean and sky. Inept, probably but it was an honest inept effort. Even the umbrella looks like an egg, but if anything about this image looks real, the bird must have been a large one to have laid an egg large enough to shield a woman from the sun!

The truth of those words is as now, they were written down as they were thought or are now being thought. That's not a good idea when we are out to make a good impression on some, we often fret and stress over. But we must also admit sometimes truths ooze out around the edges of the most carefully written sentences.

Why? Because we are imperfect creatures, and mental health demands that we learn how to accept that fact. Tomorrow we have a chance to do better, God willing. I learned those last two words from my father. He was, the same as his daughter, imperfect,but he was wise enough to know who was boss.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

How to refrain from being judgmental


In the world we live in today where evil is so rampant, it is comforting to know others are worse than we are. But is our goodness something that we can boast and brag about? No! But for the grace of God, go I is a more humane approach. Who knows the mind of God, or his ways? All anyone knows or can know is their own experiences with him, or lack thereof.

For instance, who knows when that invisible spark of humanity unknown and thought of by the crowds to be non-existent, may actually have taken root? Although unlikely in most obvious circumstances, still, it is best to leave the matter entirely with God who alone is in charge.

Why? It is unseemly and no matter how mean or evil a person is, they did not come into this world alone, they had a mother, a father, brothers, sisters, and perhaps children who may harbor no such evil intents as the horrid one. It is best to keep quiet about what we know little about. And along those lines, I admit, I may be putting myself in that category by writing this.

Until the next time I step up and talk about what I know nothing about, I will now close. And hopefully I will have something more than a dirty sock to show you!

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Reigning in on your thoughts


Aspiring to be mentally healthy is not something that comes naturally,you must constantly work at it. When you find yourself being snooty or gossipy and talking about others and saying things that you wish you had not said when later thought through, have a good talk with yourself.

Don't make excuses and try to save yourself from guilt, be truthful and suffer through with the discomfort of knowing you've wronged someone. As soon as possible get back with the person that you told that smear to and try to make demands. Let them know you had no right to say what you did and henceforth try to find something good to say about the maligned one.

What happens if the person is actually guilty of what you accused them of? If it's none of your business and it does not affect you personally let the judge and the jury take care of the matter. They will know how to get at the heart of the problem and they don't need you complicating matters.

Of course we're not saints but sinners, yet that doesn't mean we have to put ourselves above others and pretend we don't do most of things that they do. It means we are working on our mental health.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Mental Health Awareness


To be mentally healthy you must be aware of the difference between unhealthy thoughts and healthy ones. It is easy to slip into inferior thinking without even knowing you are doing it.

Taking what 'they say' as the gospel truth without first running it through your own mind to weed it of its fallacies, is one way; admitting that although you strongly believe something, there is room for doubt; and understanding that no two people think alike and it's not necessary to accept as gospel truth everything those whom you admire, say. Actually, it's quite unhealthy to idol worship.

We worship God,not humans! And that brings me to the reason that on this first workday of the Holy Week, Monday, I felt the need to begin a new blog on Mental Health. Certainly if the horrific crucifixion of Him was not unhealthy what is? It could have been the thinking of the day which made the crucifixion necessary.

The old mental health blog Headline Hunting did not start out being a site dedicated to mental health, but it gradually turned into one.

The Image: I've been trying to share my thoughts for years. Years ago, when I was new to the computer, and when newsletters were fashionable, I wrote a newsletter. I tried to get others' interested in my way of thinking, but how much impact it had, I will never know.

Now I realize the effort was for me! It kept me thinking about other things instead of how much others laughed or made fun of me, how to improve on myself and how to learn, and how to appreciate the good earth the Lord had created.

No doubt these newsletters were riddled with grammatical errors and would have been an editor's worst nightmare,were they hiring me, but I was oblivious. It was the intent and I believed what I had to say was important. I still do. But now I have a day job, I write for Helium and I can't get by with bad grammar, therefore, I try to learn.http://www.helium.com/users/edit_show/188961