Traveling Through Madness
Show me an encouraging little ditty on a New Agey background and I’ll slap that bugger on every social media platform I can think of.
They offer hope and encouragement, both of which I am sorely lacking.
Some of them do read like touchy-feely fortune cookie one-liners but I can’t help it.
When I find myself dismissing an affirmation as corny, I ask one simple question: What are you doing to improve your life?
My response is usually something along the lines of “uh…nothing.”
In addition to lifting my own spirits, I get a thrill when I post one of the affirmations and my Facebook friends send me a thumbs-up to show their appreciation.
It shows that I’ve touched a nerve--in a good way.
I’ve gotten into some very nasty political fights on Facebook, and I have nothing to show for them except bad feelings, lingering anger and a few lost friends.
During all this misery, I noticed one of my friends posted only positive affirmations no matter how turbulent the political situation happened to be.
At first, I would roll my eyes at her spiritual tidbits, thinking, oh, please, what the heck is wrong with woman? Why isn’t she all worked up and angry like I am?
But then I slowly started to notice that this woman never got mired into pointless political flame wars—unlike me.
I rarely respond to provocative comments on Facebook anymore, though it can be very difficult, given some of the bonehead remarks people post.
A New Story
I’ve also become more alert to affirmations and last week I came found a real gem.
The timing is important since I was going through one of my what-have-done-with-my-life scenarios, where I second-guess my younger self and try to rewrite my personal history.
It was getting rather unpleasant inside my head and then I found a comment on Instagram:
“I have traveled through madness to find me.”
That one really got to me. I am constantly at myself for not doing more to help myself when I was younger.
This line, however, reframes my missteps in a different light.
I didn’t believe in myself, and I came up with all kinds of excuses to explain away my self-sabotage.
The quote offers hope in that you can overcome your suffering and discover the person you were really meant to be.
Regret is one of the biggest roadblocks to personal growth. As one of my other memes says, “you can’t start a new chapter if you keep re-reading the last one.”
Please note I am not proclaiming that I have been instantly healed by a seven-word sentence and that I will go forth and live a happy well-adjusted life.
I have a lot of negative programming to undo and that’s going to take hard work and dedication. It’s up to me, not the meme.
I look at affirminations as road signs on my journey to becoming the greatest version of myself. They can point the way, but I have to make sure that I'm going in the right direction.
I want to tone down the madness, so I’m going to be opened to forgiving myself. I’m going to work at staying present and stop staring into the rearview mirror.
Before I sign off, I want to leave you with one more affirmation I came across last week. It’s simple, direct and beautiful.
“Step into your new story.”
Let’s start walking.
Comments
Happy Monday, Rob!
Hey, Bijoux!
I think you have the right idea.
You're never going to convince people to change their minds through a Facebook flamewar. At least the demotivation memes make you laugh!
Take care.
Jay, thanks for your sharing your experiences!
You are showing tremendous courage, my dear friend, and you know I am in your corner.
Getting back into therapy is the next thing on my emotional to-do list. I don't know much about myofascial release massage, but thanks to you, I intend to investigate.
You're making small steps in the right direction and that's so important. Keep it up!
The past will always be there and there is nothing I can do to change that. However, I can change my relationship with it -- by living NOW. And actually doing it.
It's been such a great feeling of freedom.
Have a terrific week, buddy!
Hey, Ron, I love your attitude!
Affirming gratitude for the past is a brilliant, healthy approach to life.
I'm familiar with EFT or emotional freedom tapping, where you tap on certain acupuncture points while clearing negative emotions and memories.
Thanks so much for stopping by, buddy!
Ron - I've started with a little bit of tapping/affirmations, too. My therapist (still can't get used to saying that) taught me another trick today with tapping and I'll be incorporating that as well. Sometimes I wonder if I'm trying to attack the madness on too many fronts, but at least I feel motivated, huh? :D
Within the past month, I have made the personal decision to let go of many things including people no longer in contact with me. Doing so has not been disappointing in the least, but actually freeing.
Motivation is crucial, Jay!
I appreciation your honesty and frankness. I had a therapist who used to refer to various mental health techniques as your took box.
You want to have a variety of tools to handle the big jobs!
Beatrice:
Smart move on the social media front. There is so much anger and hostility out there; you don't want to get dragged into it.
Letting go of certain people is also very liberating and I applaud you for taking that step. Sounds like a good plan for me.