I had one of those days!!

well…weeks really. You know the kind I mean, where you are shown some of the worst sides of human beings and wonder what this world is coming to? Do you ever feel like that?

I cannot share all the things here that upset me this last week, but here are a few.

I witnessed a school employee encouraging and allowing a student to damage an active birds nest. In case you have doubts of her participation, she was pointing out sticks he could throw, and when I asked what they were doing she said “He’s fine, I’m watching him.” When asked again what they were doing, she informed me that the boy wanted to see what kind of bird was inside the nest.

She knew it was a nest, and was allowing this boy to whack at the hollow trunk it was in, throw heavy things at it from a full water bottle to rocks, and jab around inside it with a stick potentially killing babies or parent birds. Even putting the poor birds aside, and the federal crime, who in their right mind allows or helps a child get their kicks doing this? Especially a school employee? It is well known and documented that serial killers all get their start harming small animals. When I spoke to the principal and then the superintendent they seemed to think I was over reacting.

Really?

The next day, someone hit my car in a parking lot and took off!

Yes, there is damage. Yes, they got away! This is the SECOND time in a couple years this has happened, creating damage I get to pay for or live with. They left the scene, and weren’t honest about it. Just left me with damage to deal with.

Several other things happened that I am not able to share, but I felt like the world was becoming a violent place, filled with disappointing rudeness, bullying, and uncaring folks. Collectively, events were stacking up against the year of tough things we have been through (from continued underemployment, failed shoulder surgery and more time spent fighting cancer) and you add all this up and it felt like a lot. I felt overwhelmed by it, empty, and disappointed in people. I wanted to move far away from the city and people! I am sure others have felt this way, have you?

A very old woman in her 90’s once told me she was glad she didn’t have to live in this world much longer as it had turned into an evil place. I pondered that comment once again. Have you ever thought about that?

Things HAVE changed since I was a kid. Those were… simpler times.

This emotional funk seemed to derail me from my focus on chasing dreams and joy!

I am grateful for God and my faith that this is not the whole story. God gently reminds me that I have let others down too, we are not perfect. I am not perfect.

So how do I get out of the funk this leaves me in? How do I get past it and move on? Because I am on a mission here, to make my life better, to create the joy and reality I dreamed about my whole life. When people seem to be showing you their bad side, break your trust, or do harm to you or your property, how do you shake it off? Just ignore it and go back to pursuing your dreams and chasing after joy? I can’t really ignore it. I have to work through it. Here are a few healthy ideas to get you back on track.

You have to actually decide you won’t let them make you unhappy. If someone is so miserable or rotten that they damage others in various ways, why let them do additional damage with your consent by also giving them rent in your head? This is hard for me, I am constantly overthinking everything, and I have been known to take things pretty personally at times. So how did I do this? How do you do this?

You have to forgive them.

I worked through this during Lent this year, and if you haven’t read that article it is here.

Count your blessings, and good people!

I sat for a bit and thought about all the people that had done truly kind things for me and my family during our multiple battles of cancer. Friends that were such good people! Thought of people that help others, donate to charities, and go out of their way to be kind. This made me remember, not all humanity is bad, that I couldn’t judge all people based on the few that had greatly disappointed me. Going through the exercise of naming names of good people or acts in your head actually scoots the bad aside and changes your focus. (like counting your blessings!) Changing your focus to the good CAN help you sweep them out of your head. The good becomes a bigger part of your thoughts, and the bad a smaller percentage of the space in your head. Victory!

FAITH

After arriving home, I picked up my bible, and reminded myself through the following verses that God is still there and He loves me. We grow when things are hard. A few verses that help during these kind of times.

James 1:12
Philipians 4:8-9, 11
Phillipians 4:13 A favorite verse.
1 Peter 2:23, 1 Peter 5:10
Romans 8:28
Jeremiah 29:11

Therapy!

You don’t have to go pay someone for this, you can spend time with your loved ones, family or friends!! My husband spent some time comforting me and joining me for something that makes me happy…looking at plants and flowers for the gardens. I call this “Husband Therapy” and “Plant Therapy”. Garden, cook a meal while dancing around the kitchen, go shopping, get a massage, go for a hike, whatever soothes your soul.

Nourish YOU.

I also got a good night’s sleep. Ate some good healthy food. Used some great Essential Oils! Make yourself feel better physically as it boosts how you feel emotionally.

All of these things that I did are positive reactions to feeling hurt, down, or disappointed.

The final thing that comes next, is SO IMPORTANT!

GET UP!

Dust yourself off. Plaster a smile on your face, and move forward with something positive. There is no option but to get up. People who do not get up and keep fighting through another day are the ones that get stuck. They stop moving, their life becomes dark and sad. So do SOMETHING positive to reach your dreams, no matter how small. Set backs are temporary, we all have them. We must fight through them and move on. So get back in the game.

Repeat after me: It is what it is!!

So are you getting up? Are you living your life no matter how hard it is? If not, what are you waiting for? Get up!

***Just so those of you other soft-hearted animal lovers know, the Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Officer went and had a “talk” with the principal. They came to an “understanding” that the principal will do his very best to make sure that this never happens again.