For a long time now, I have subscribed to a few websites that send daily emails with inspirational messages that usually change my perspective on things for the better.
In my recent blog post called Daily Gems, I mentioned a few things that I try to do each day to nurture and ground myself. Reading these inspirational quotes is one I left off.
This particular quote below is one I received from Bob Proctor’s “Insight of the Day”.
"It is impossible to be both grateful and depressed. Those with a grateful mindset tend to see the message in the mess. And even though life may knock them down, the grateful find reasons, if even small ones, to get up." ~Steve Maraboli, Author and Speaker
I share it here now because I felt it to be a very thought provoking statement, especially for someone in my profession who deals with depression quite often and is in the business of using mindfulness practices to help others heal from their depressed state of being.
Have you ever looked up the definition of depression? I did. What I found was that depression is a depressed or sunken place or part, a prolonged sadness, and a condition of general emotional dejection and withdrawal.
For me, what this says is that depression is when there is a part of you (inside you) that needs to be explored, given some attention to, nurtured, befriended, and maybe even forgiven.
What I mean is that there is a certain part of you that is disrupting the whole system you are made up of because it has been ignored, stuffed, numbed, shushed, or beaten up with harsh words from others and perhaps even your own self.
When this certain part or parts of you have finally had enough, they depress (push or pull down) you because they feel saddened and so they begin to make you feel sunken.
Once our system has experienced this for some time and reached its wit’s end, I believe in the power of talking it out, connecting, and finding ways to feel gratitude.
Talking it Out- Through counseling, you are able to tell your untold story (or stories) that sit inside of you and cause you to feel agony.
Connecting- Through counseling, you are able to connect with someone who will listen to how you really feel inside, support you, and teach you how to have compassion for yourself and befriend the parts of you that are sunken or disheartened.
Gratitude- No matter what, there is always something to be grateful for. During times of deep sadness, even the simple act of being outside and admiring nature can help you to make small shifts from darkness to noticing that there IS still light and beauty in your world.
These are some of the key things that I hope to offer people through Root&Connect.
Had I not experienced depression myself, I would not be able to write this with such confidence in knowing that counseling, along with nurturing the whole person (the system) is a true way to feeling good that does work. My goal is to help others so that they are able to wake up each day saying goodbye to depression and naturally feeling gratitude for who they are, the life they live, and the world around them.
This post is dedicated to some of my loved ones, as well as, the loved ones of others.