I have been processing a few thoughts on the connection between our emotions and our spirituality over the last few days. We will just work from the assumption that those lines are clear for today and drawn them later. In relation to emotions I discussed on Saturday night at church about how quickly we can take a not so big deal and make it MASSIVE. Essentially making our recession into our great depression. (thank you Jay Z) But I want to just give a couple quick signs that your in a recession and about to turn either your emotions or your spirituality into your great depression. As a fairly emotional person I can safely say that these ideas are from my own mistakes and reflections… so if you think this is about you… you should re read it until it’s not. I can’t count on one hand the amount of times that my emotions and lack of sleep have gotten the better of me.
Signs that your emotions are about to turn you towards a great depression depression
– You use words like always and never when referring to how people treat you poorly.
– Your not sleeping well at night (self imposed or not, your brain needs time to detox and rest, you need your sleep!) Often if people bring problems to me the first thing I ask is how they are sleeping. It’s that important.
– There is an immediate jump to the worst case scenario (assuming people are speaking poorly of you)
– You assume you are not included in the ‘in crowd’ (if that exists)
– You have created us and them scenarios that probably don’t exist
– You hold on to grudges for far too long (more than a minute)
– You have already noticed something on this list that annoys you
– If you always think that the situation you are in feels ‘heavy’ but no one else does
– You use friendships and relationships to build up your side against someone else
– Constantly scrolling Facebook to see what people are saying and if it has anything to do with you
These are just some thoughts and reflections, nothing definitive, nothing massive. I think the reason I blog is to put my thoughts onto something concrete. By doing this I can keep on track and maybe help someone along the way.
My challenge is to think the best of people, assume the best case scenario and don’t become a Debbie downer.
Here are some quick strategies on getting your emotions under control and get on track.
– Do the basics of life. Get lots of sleep, eat real meals, exercise even when you don’t want to. These things make a bigger difference than you think they do. Think about how much better your body feels… your emotions/mind/spiritual well being excel at the same time if you can think clearly.
– Take time to think. Not read, not discuss… just think and process theology, social issues or what ever else you can solve … or make more confusing all by yourself.
– Discover something deeper about life. If you care about Jesus or not… read scripture, the amount of wisdom inside the Bible is amazing and can reconstruct your life even if you never chose God.
– The next one is similar, take time to pray. Maybe your not into God… well try talking to the wall and see how that goes. Pretty sure God is still listening. Anyway you invite God on your life journey will be an amazing walk.
– Make goals for improvement, if your not aspiring to do something bigger than your doing right now.
– For goodness sakes don’t fight on social media! There is nothing more annoying than Facebook fighting. Especially when your an adult… there is something magical called unfollow. The better option is communicate in person, its just better and no misconceptions.
– If you know that someone doesn’t like you… take them cookies or a tim’s card. But love someone that clearly needs it.
The end for now.
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