mr pete told me this am-he is tired of "hope"-so we took a walk & found some moments of happiness
One thing I learned when things were hardest: The harder things are in your life, the more important it is to compartmentalize and be fully present for even brief moments of happiness.
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It might be for only 10 minutes at a time. It might be just standing out in the grass watching the wind move the trees.
Might be walking your dog or listening to an album.
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You have to have those carve-outs – and you have to throw yourself into them fully.
You have to suppress whatever gets in the way. You have to push past any guilt as if you should not be having even moments of feeling happy in the midst of terrible times.
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When it comes to surviving terrible times and things:
The only way out is through.
And the only way through is to keep pedaling.
And you can only pedaling if you have the energy for it.
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And nothing refuels like even brief moments of happiness.
It is a running vaccination against hopelessness.
So, if you have plans this weekend, keep them.
If you have a thing you can do that you enjoy, do it.
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And throw yourself fully into it.
That does no disservice to the struggle. It keeps you healthy and well enough to stay in the fight.
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For me, the respite has been times# with my son (when I have him) and time in nature (when I don’t).
Today, it’ll be a morning soccer game. For that few hours, I’ll be totally immersed by even more of a conscious decision than usual.
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This afternoon, when he’s off playing PS4, I’m going to take a shitload of pictures of birds in my yard – not because I need more pics of cardinals but because I need the salve of compartmentalized moments that refresh.
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If you’ve never been ground down to a paste by prolonged stress and hardship, take my word for it on this…
You will endure far more successfully if you consciously feed your soul with moments of fully present happiness – even if you have to force yourself.
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