"Listening to your heart is not simple.
Finding out who you are is not simple.
It takes a lot of hard work and courage
to get to know who you are and what you want."
Just ask Moana.
If you haven't seen the movie, it is not just a kid movie.
Go watch it.
If you can get past the trial of taking care of yourself,
then you can get past the trial of listening to your heart.
For it is a trial.
It is hard.
But it is worth it.
Have you ever heard of Kintsukuroi? It's where they fix pots with gold, and they become even more beautiful than when they started.
But first they were broken.
"Some days the Simple Abundance path comes naturally.
You realize all you have is all you truly need.
Other days, it's impossible to quiet down the wants.
It seems as if you have too many unfulfilled desires and delayed dreams.
You're sick and tired of waiting for inner changes to manifest themselves on the outside.
When the dark days come,
[and they will come]
we need to remember that even if a secret saboteur
is at work temporarily derailing our progress
(or so it seems),
each day offers us a gift if we will only look for it.
Sometimes we're sad for a very apparent reason...
Other times we don't know why we feel so bad,
which makes us feel even worse.
It could be for a million different reasons-
an appalling lack of appreciation(by ourselves and by others),
exhaustion,
the weather,
hormones,
the advent of the flu,
or simply part of the process of personal transformation."
"All the best transformations are accompanied by pain...
That's the point of them."
Start Quote
Personal growth also comes in spasms:
three steps forward, two steps back,
and then a long plateau when it seems as though nothing is happening.
But it's important to realize that this dormant period always seems to precede a growth spurt.
Unfortunately, during the dormant period we very often become depressed and decide to give up.
It's on days like these that you can barely get yourself dressed and out the door.
You look like hell and could care less.
You can't remember if you took a shower yesterday or when the last time was you washed your hair.
The children's voices are insisted and yours is shrill.
You haven't any patience.
Life seems bleak, not bright with promise.
It's taking more work than you expected to discover who you really are, and now you're no longer sure you even want to find out.
When dark clouds hover, what should you do besides holding on and riding out the storm?
You have two choices.
One is simply to give in,
stop resisting.
You've got the blues, so sing them, baby.
But before you do, ask for grace.
Then have a good cry.
Leave work early.
Take a nap and try to sleep it off.
Indulge - without guilt - in something purely for medicinal reasons, like a piece of cheesecake or a bowl of Haagen-Dazs, but don't eat it standing in front of the refrigerator. Sit down, eat your treat slowly and savor it.
If you have the energy, fix comfort food for dinner tonight.
If you don't, fix something simple like soup and sandwiches.
Rent a three-hanky movie.
Put the kids to bed early.
Soak in a hot tub.
Raid your comfort drawer.
Pull up the covers and snuggle down.
Find five things for which to be grateful.
Turn out the light.
[Two]
The alternative blues-kicker is to shift gears.
Ask for grace.
Call a good friend and talk.
Put the kettle on for a fresh pot of tea.
Wash your face, comb your hair, put on some lipstick, perfume, and earrings.
Smile at yourself in the mirror.
Straighten the living room so that you can find a place to sit down.
Take a walk around the block and clear your head.
If you're working in an office,
[or even if you're not]
give yourself permission to put off that new project at work until tomorrow when you can concentrate.
Instead, clean your desk and organize your papers.
On the way home treat yourself to a bouquet of daffodils.
Peruse your cookbooks and prepare something different for dinner.
No matter what route you take,
within twenty-four hours the day will be over.
Tomorrow should be better.
But if it's not, nor the next day, or the next, then know that it's okay to ask for help from friends, a support group, a therapist, a doctor, or your Higher Power.
Dark days come to all of us.
Yet discouraging days bring with them golden opportunities when we can learn to be kind to ourselves.
Believe it or not, today offers you a hidden gift,
if you're willing to search for it.
End Quote
The next time that I have a sad day I am going to read this again.
I hope this helps you as it has helped me.
I never thought that this would be a trial in my life, and whether you have a depressing day or a depressing year, I hope this helps.
There is nothing to be ashamed of.
I also LOVE these videos, check them out.
I literally feel the same as Heather. I've said those exact words, and the answers were the same.
"These dark days will be worth all they cost us if they teach us...our true destiny..."
Frodo: "I wish none of this had happened."
Gandalf: "So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."
-LOTR
Also, this.
Liahona: The Elders' Journal, page 16, or 1079
***
Gratitude Journal
***
1) After sickness usually comes health. My kiddos are getting better, and today we tried to go out. Chase ended up licking every chair in the donut shop, and almost licked the dirtiest spot on the floor. Lets hope he doesn't get sick...again...
2) Pizza and movie night. Robbie picked it up on his way home from work, which is a plus because that means I didn't have to get the kids in the car and out of the car and in the car again...Pizza was awesome, Moana was awesome...Friday nights rock.
3) Good friends who don't judge you, who support you in what you are trying to do, which is take care of my family.
4) Rain.
5) A roof to keep me out of the rain.
Poor Indy. The kids let her out and I didn't know. She was soaked.
Also, they got into my piano candy...they got a few pieces of chewing gum...I can't find the gum so I'm assuming they ate it. Yuck. But I don't know which is worse, them eating the gum or chewing it and sticking it somewhere I can't find...
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