What a place I am in right now! I am not talking about a mansion, messy home or office building. I am talking about the emotional places that we frequent, or occasionally visit.
Have you ever heard someone say, "I am in a weird place right now", or "I am just not in that place yet."? I don't think that they mean they stumbled into something out of a Dr Seuss book, or landed in Willy Wonka's Chocolate factory. It also does not mean that they wish to be in Tahiti, but haven't quite made it yet.
Those phrases do not refer to the cruise you are on or the dream vacation. It is something far more important. They are places in our lives -emotional places.
There are times of emotional bliss: A new love, a marriage, a baby. The job you have wanted your whole life and the big deal you closed. You are confident, happy, full of light! You are in a great place!
But there are places of darkness: The loveless marriage you fight for, the child who has strayed into danger, the loved one who is terminally ill.
There is the monotony of daily battles that tear you down and sap you of your joy. It is a fight to keep your head above water -some days you settle for your nose above water. And the fear is always there that you will sink under.
What place are you? Do you feel overwhelmed? What do you fight for?
This week, on blog that I follow, PW sponsored a fundraiser for a family battling cancer. Though the contest is over (sorry guys), she asked a question for the entrees to answer:
What do you fight?
That is worth saying again. What do you fight?
Until yesterday, I did not take the time to read any of the answers. There are more than 10,000, but I read a few, and some of the answers are quite humorous! Pet dander, potty training your 2-year-old, fighting with the dog for a place on the bed.
But some of them broke my heart.
Like the woman under pressure from her husband's manipulative family to leave the career she loves and take an unpaid job in the family business; the woman who is reminded every day with stinging comments that her husband is not her soul mate; the mother and wife who is caring for her husband and daughter as they simultaneously fight cancer; the woman living in a loveless marriage for the sake of her children; the young woman dealing with years of physical, emotional and sexual abuse. And I could go on, and on.
I cried as I sat there.
It made me count my blessings.
Blessings:
Monkeys
Sweet Geek
Mom and Daddy
My sisters, My best friends:
(there is another sister, but alas, I have no good pictures of her)
Baby toes
And so many more things than I could fit pictures in my blog.
These are the light to me, and my heart aches for those others dwelling in a dark place.
They are in the trenches. That is the place that they live their lives. Can you imagine being there indefinitely? What about the fear of a much darker place? Like the loss of a loved one, or divorce. Can you imagine every day feeling as if you can hardly breath -the pain is so overwhelming.
And yet, we go on. We move forward. Resilient. Choosing a great attitude over a sorrowful one, but always feeling the pain in our hearts. Choosing to count our blessings; enjoy the simple things in life (like shoes!); and thank God for every moment, every hour, every day with the ones that we love. And fighting to not let the little struggles get in the way of enjoying the ones we love.
I want to hear about your struggles. If you do not want to share your name, leave the comment under anonymous. If you are on Facebook, and you don't want to use your name, click THIS link, and it will take you to the blog. I want to hear about what you struggle with.
The radiant light that you see or the dark place that you must dwell right now. The peace that you have. The fears you live with, the hopes that propel you. The cruise you are on to Tahiti...
Where do YOU live?
Oh, and if you find MY comment on PW's site, I am sure it is shallow and silly. Please disregard completely.
Have you ever heard someone say, "I am in a weird place right now", or "I am just not in that place yet."? I don't think that they mean they stumbled into something out of a Dr Seuss book, or landed in Willy Wonka's Chocolate factory. It also does not mean that they wish to be in Tahiti, but haven't quite made it yet.
Those phrases do not refer to the cruise you are on or the dream vacation. It is something far more important. They are places in our lives -emotional places.
There are times of emotional bliss: A new love, a marriage, a baby. The job you have wanted your whole life and the big deal you closed. You are confident, happy, full of light! You are in a great place!
But there are places of darkness: The loveless marriage you fight for, the child who has strayed into danger, the loved one who is terminally ill.
There is the monotony of daily battles that tear you down and sap you of your joy. It is a fight to keep your head above water -some days you settle for your nose above water. And the fear is always there that you will sink under.
What place are you? Do you feel overwhelmed? What do you fight for?
This week, on blog that I follow, PW sponsored a fundraiser for a family battling cancer. Though the contest is over (sorry guys), she asked a question for the entrees to answer:
What do you fight?
That is worth saying again. What do you fight?
Until yesterday, I did not take the time to read any of the answers. There are more than 10,000, but I read a few, and some of the answers are quite humorous! Pet dander, potty training your 2-year-old, fighting with the dog for a place on the bed.
But some of them broke my heart.
Like the woman under pressure from her husband's manipulative family to leave the career she loves and take an unpaid job in the family business; the woman who is reminded every day with stinging comments that her husband is not her soul mate; the mother and wife who is caring for her husband and daughter as they simultaneously fight cancer; the woman living in a loveless marriage for the sake of her children; the young woman dealing with years of physical, emotional and sexual abuse. And I could go on, and on.
I cried as I sat there.
It made me count my blessings.
Blessings:
Monkeys
Sweet Geek
Mom and Daddy
My sisters, My best friends:
(there is another sister, but alas, I have no good pictures of her)Baby toes
And so many more things than I could fit pictures in my blog.
These are the light to me, and my heart aches for those others dwelling in a dark place.
They are in the trenches. That is the place that they live their lives. Can you imagine being there indefinitely? What about the fear of a much darker place? Like the loss of a loved one, or divorce. Can you imagine every day feeling as if you can hardly breath -the pain is so overwhelming.
And yet, we go on. We move forward. Resilient. Choosing a great attitude over a sorrowful one, but always feeling the pain in our hearts. Choosing to count our blessings; enjoy the simple things in life (like shoes!); and thank God for every moment, every hour, every day with the ones that we love. And fighting to not let the little struggles get in the way of enjoying the ones we love.
I want to hear about your struggles. If you do not want to share your name, leave the comment under anonymous. If you are on Facebook, and you don't want to use your name, click THIS link, and it will take you to the blog. I want to hear about what you struggle with.
The radiant light that you see or the dark place that you must dwell right now. The peace that you have. The fears you live with, the hopes that propel you. The cruise you are on to Tahiti...
Where do YOU live?
Oh, and if you find MY comment on PW's site, I am sure it is shallow and silly. Please disregard completely.
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