![]() ![]() In an ideal world, I would be a vegan who never uses anything that has been tested on animals or made from animal products. This one hurts to write about because it still sparks feelings of shame. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still treat yourself with kindness and acknowledge that while things could be worse, they’re still not ideal. Someone can-and will-always have it worse than you. This example gets into the unhelpful instinct to invalidate your own suffering if someone else is suffering more. I hope to figure out how to live in that space.Ģ) COMPARED TO OTHER PEOPLE, MY OCD IS EXTREMELY MILD It is possible to be both humble and confident. Now I am trying to find a way to continue to nurture my relationship with myself while still acknowledging room for improvement. It makes sense that after years of hating myself, the pendulum has occasionally swung a bit too far the other way. My journey of self-acceptance and self-love has sometimes tipped into arrogance. I am also allowed to have boundaries and breaking points. We all fall victim to the media and social messaging we are exposed to, and I need to remember that instead of expecting the same type of thinking from everyone. I am doing my best to try to understand how some people come to have the opinions they have instead of cutting them off for having the opinions in the first place. These past few weeks have sparked a lot of uncomfortable conversations in my life with people I care about. And the more fuel we have in our own tanks, the more we can do in the long run.Ģ) I AM DEEPLY DISTURBED BY THEIR VIEW OF THE WORLD It is possible to feel lucky and grateful without erasing other people’s experiences. But depriving ourselves of the good to honor the bad probably won’t cause the positive impact we want anyway. It can feel icky to celebrate or feel joy when we know so many other people are suffering. So, to avoid either outcome, here are some of the conflicting truths I am currently learning to accept:ġ) TERRIBLE THINGS ARE HAPPENING IN THE WORLD ![]() (Or becoming the kind of people who shout NOTHING IS FINE, while everyone is just trying to have a little ice cream on a Sunday evening.) And when that happens, we run the risk of becoming the kind of people who shout EVERYTHING IS FINE as the house burns around us. Because the more we try to simplify the world around us, the easier it is to ignore things that don’t fit perfectly into our conceptualization. And while it would be simpler to only pay attention to one, I have to hold space for both. As I have tried to navigate how to keep fighting for a better world while still enjoying the one I live in, it’s reminded me how often two incongruous things can exist at once. It can start to feel like our only choices are to become consumed with all the horror or completely block it out so we can keep going. I can’t open social media or the news without being inundated with terrible things happening all over the world. Not to be controversial, but it is a pretty freaking scary time to be alive. ![]()
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