How to Get out of Depression (body, mind, soul)

Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2 Pay It Forward

 

 24hours are up, and the boohoo festival is over. No longer should you feel angry or sad when you should feel calm knowing that you focused on three of the key areas of your life during your monthly daily crisis. You worked on your mind, body, and soul. How did you do this? Simply by allowing yourself the space you needed to let out the hurt, pain, and despair which gave you the release you needed to transition back into the healing mode which is where you should be now.  The healing mode is going to be a series of stages much like a roller coaster of emotions such as the sadness felt from the loss of a loved one or even a pet. Perhaps, the emotional roller coaster is bitterness settling in when nothing seems to change. It’s okay to be real and feel these emotions, but the key component now is to identify the emotion and immediately work at leaving it behind in the dust.  Do not continue to dwell on this negative emotion once you recognize it for what it is. If you allow it to fester it will become toxic, and then you’ll need to use another FREE PASS, except remember you’re only supposed to use this release in the beginning. Hopefully within the time, it won’t be needed at all.

Right about now, you’re probably scratching your head asking how to move away from this monkey on your back, when it nags and pulls at you constantly. I’ve come to the only solution which is to Pay It Forward. In a nutshell, I’ve found to heal myself is to help someone else. For some reason, it is the only solution that has worked for me. I urge you to give it a try, even if it begins as an innocent selfish act on your part because it will quickly become selfless as the universal laws of love work its magic. Its’ true we’re all going through trials and tribulations in our lives, and no one is exempt from life and its pain, and joys. Getting the focus off of me and onto someone else is the healing magic, and I’m urging you to give it a try.  I think sometimes we feel we have to do it up solid for it to count, but this is totally false. Many of us can’t give billions of dollars away to charities to help the down and out. Most of us can’t afford to take off time from work to jet set around the world helping others in disaster relief efforts.  Perhaps you fall into the category of not knowing where to begin at all. Perhaps you feel you are just an ordinary person for the most part doing ordinary things in life. Maybe you feel there is absolutely nothing significant to contribute doing your time here so to speak on planet earth.

 Let me help show you what you can give, and how marvelous you truly are. All of us can do something right where we are, even if there are no money or talents. The only thing required is the willingness, and the thing about this desire, is it’s free.  If you are a shut-in, but have a telephone then begin by dialing a friend’s number to put a smile on their face, or write a heartfelt letter. What about sitting in a different spot today in the work cafeteria to strike up a conversation with someone who always eats alone.  You know whom I’m talking about. You see this person every day with the loneliness written all over your co-workers face. Today brightens this person’s day by acknowledging their existence. Maybe you have one of the most demanding jobs on the planet, you’re a mother and a housewife whose only real contact is the neighbor, then begin by blessing the neighbor. Later, you might consider hosting a block party and reaching out to the entire neighborhood.

Chances are you might not know everyone at work or everyone in your neighborhood, so this is a perfect time to reach out. Don’t worry about not being able to go global, because our communities are falling apart too. Look around and reach out. Begin where you can but the key is to begin.  Keep this up as a daily practice. There is always someone to spread merry cheer to with all sorts of ways to spread it. 

STORY TIME

Yesterday I went to the grocery store and felt as though I should say hi to this man who couldn't walk the best. I heard the creator tell me he is slow, lonely and forgotten so to speak because of his disabilities.  Anyways, I thought for a moment to myself that no one speaks to people anymore, especially strangers. He was probably in his thirties.

I said, "Hi, how are you doing today?" Well, the reaction on his face isn't what I was expecting actually, but I can't get it out of my mind. His face beamed from ear to ear as though I had handed him the key to the city, and he said, "Good thank you"

From the produce area, I went to the rows of bread since the creator said to speak to this elderly woman who goes home by herself every day to an empty house. This woman was all dolled up to go to the grocery store with matching sweater and a bright red scarf wrapped around her neck, so I decided it would be the ice breaker. All of this got me thinking how we as a society don't speak to strangers. I may have gotten more out of this experience than they did, not actually sure. 

Being kind to others should be a daily practice to pay it forward so to speak. People have forgotten to be kind, except I don’t believe we do it on purpose. I believe for the most part we are creatures of habit, and we tend to be so busy caught up in our own personal lives that we may not notice the person standing right next to us struggling. The other sad notion is that when someone smiles at another human, and the person on the receiving end feels threatened that this is meant as a flirtation. It doesn’t have to be, and I would hope deep down we would know the difference. The key is to begin to live again and to expand our world outside of you, me, and us. Together we need one another.

Electronics are more than likely not going away, and as a result of this I believe we are more connected than ever, and at the same time this technology has disconnected us from others within reach.

Story Time:

It’s not often that I go out to eat for many reasons, except recently my husband and I went to a Mexican restaurant and couldn’t help but notice the family of three next to us.  Directly across from our table was mom and her two daughters who were approximately nine and twelve.  They all three pulled out their hot pink phones once they placed their orders.  I didn’t mean to be rude by staring, but truthfully they didn’t notice me when they didn’t even notice one another.  There was little talking amongst the three, but it was obvious that all three were engaging in talking or texting to someone. I felt sad for them. From the outside looking in it was sad to see how disconnected this family appeared.

 

EXERCISE:  Pay it forward by doing something for someone else. Below are some ideas which you could do for someone else by choosing one or more to pay it forward.  Begin to make this a daily practice.

1.     Write that letter to brighten someone’s day.

2.      Call up an old friend.

3.      Say a pray for someone else.

4.     Volunteer at the local food bank.

5.     Take a meal to a shut-in.

6.     Visit a senior center.

7.     Walk your neighbor’s dog.

8.     Draw a picture for someone.

9.     Write a poem for someone.

10.     What is your idea?