Anybody struggling
with disorders like depression and anxiety will from time-to-time be aware of the lack of
control he or she has over how they feel (after all they are called disorders
for a reason). The sensations grip not only the person’s mind but her or his
body and spirit as well.
While there
is much to say about the power within a person as a vehicle to overcoming
adversity, today I want to talk about how to harness the power of people and
things outside of ourselves to help in the process of finding wellness. This is
not because I lack confidence in my own or any other person’s inner strength as
a means of overcoming mental troubles, but rather because the person suffering
mentally can sometimes lack confidence in their inner strength and therefore will at times need to draw it from elsewhere.
An
illustration is helpful here. In the late 1970s, NASA launched the space probe
Voyager into the solar system to take pictures of outer lying planets. To get where it was going it had a certain amount of
power it could direct into changing course, but a key factor in its journey was
the way it harnessed the gravity of the planets it visited along the way that
worked as a slingshot to propel it from planet to planet and then into outer
space where it continues its amazing interstellar mission to this day.
We humans
are not so different. We all require power external to ourselves to get where
we are going in life’s journey.
These power
sources will differ according to each person’s personality and needs, but here
are some practical everyday examples.
- Relationships: be they family, friends, a special someone, God
- Regular means of enjoyment: this can be from entertainment (such as music, TV shows), creative self expression, exercise, personal reflection etc
- Periodic things to look forward to: such as holidays, parties and catch ups over coffee
- Spontaneous things: like running into an old friend, finding a funny clip on youtube, going on a picnic
Of course
these examples are far from mind blowing, but it is often simple nuts-and-bolts aspects of life like these that can help slingshot us out of the blues and reach for the
stars.
