End in sight.....

I am finally at that place where there is a light at the end of a long dark tunnel. The end is in sight.  Some of my struggles over the past month are beginning to resolve.   As with all things, they tend to pass into something else.   Hard times come and go and fun times come and go.   My mood shifts seem to come and go as well.

I was thinking tonight about how I have learned to deal with the changes in my life.  I guess I have learned to deal with them one day at a time.   It is easier to tackle one day of any situation than a month, year or lifetime of that situation.   Likewise, it is easier to deal with one day of depression or mania than it is to think "how am I going to live like this for the rest of my life?"  I try to take things in as small of a chunk as I can.  Just like that old saying about eating an elephant.   How do you eat an elephant?  One bite at a time.

My other trick is to tell my self that situations and moods change.  Some situations and moods are great and some are harder to deal with.   Neither lasts forever.   So while I am living through things one day at a time, I am also telling myself that this hard time or mood or hard time and hard mood will not last forever.   There will be an end.   This makes it easier for me to get through things.

I have also learned to have things to do.   I need to be busy.   If I am on the manic side of things, then I need to monitor how busy I am, but generally, I need to have something to do.  Working keeps me plenty busy, but on the weekends, if I am depressed or in a tough situation or both, I need to be sure that I do something.   The task that I pick isn't necessarily important, but I definitely need to get going or I will just stew in my depression all day.  All weekend.   Having something to do and continuing to do something, usually helps my mood to lift.   It gets easier to put one foot in front of the other and keep going.

My mood is much better this week.   My situation is pretty much the same.   Some things are beginning to fall into place, and I know that the end of some uncomfortable things is in sight.   Other situations are still just ongoing.   They are situations that are difficult and uncomfortable for me.  I tend to think about them constantly, and when I try to focus on something else, I just keep going back to these things and pick them up again.    There are times I have to really work on just letting things go.    Being busy helps me to continue to let them go.   Even if I just let go for five minutes and don't continue to ruminate over things, it helps.   The next time I may be able to let go for six minutes, or ten.    Eventually, I begin to train myself to just let go of things.  This helps me to feel better and to get through difficult situations, and to stay healthier.

Most of the time, I still feel like I am walking uphill, through wind, water, mud and snow, with a 400 pound rock on my back, but I still make progress up my mountain.   After a while, there is an end.  Tough times change.  Moods change.   And so do I.  

And now for a message from our life coach cats:

 

There are things and situations that we can't change.

It is a whole lot easier to accept hard times if you can take them one bite at a time.

Know that these times will pass. 

Learn to let go.

 

 

 

One day at a time Mindfulness:

today I practiced mindfulness while exercising in the pool.   I thought about my body and the movements I was doing with my limbs.   I also thought about the feeling of the water on my skin, and the color of the water, as well as the smell of the water.   Then I focused on what I was doing and put my awareness on the sounds in the pool around me.   Many times I will use the 5 senses to put myself in the present moment.  This helps me to get out of my head and just relax.   Often, I will have to pull my focus back to the present using one of the 5 senses.  It helps me to keep track of the places my mind wants to wander to.   This raises my awareness of the things I am struggling to let go of in my life.    Mindfulness is easier for me when I am in contact with water.  Water is like magic for me.   Whether I am doing the dishes, swimming, showering or even sitting by a creek in the mountains, there is just something about water that helps me to connect with the now. What helps you to connect with the now?