wearing our badges

a wee while ago now, i remember being awarded badges at high school. some read 'prefect', 'whanau (family group) leader', 'sport's captain'. it was an honour to wear these, it displayed your leadership role and responsibilities. it gave me a sense of pride and accomplishment. it was an acknowledgement for hard work and that you had earned that position. wouldn't it be great if that could continue through life? unfortunately, it doesn't quite work like that. there are many ways of receiving acknowledgement but at times the way you receive criticism far outweighs the positive messages...

{ 17 year old me at highschool, oh that skivvie! }

sometimes you just have to pin some badges on your chest that nobody else but you can see. a way of acknowledging what seems to be very ordinary tasks that sometimes take extraordinary strength.

{i got up and faced the day}
{i calmed my breathing down}
{i gave all I had when all I had, felt like nothing}

we have to create an image of pinning them on to build confidence in ourselves. these personal acknowledgements start an important validation process that we can't ask anyone else to do. it starts with us. our validation only comes from ourselves and Him alone. being aware of the meaningfulness of our days, whether large or a small part of a big picture is a great start to practising gratitude. gratitude for the journey you are on, and where you are going.

so why am i suggesting this? that's because today is world mental health day.

i would so love to take the {mental} connotation, out of mental health. anxiety and depression issues effect 1 in every 5 adults in nz. that is a huge statistic that has to be talked about and shared. putting it out on here, albeit somewhat in a coy manner has been liberating for me.

the strategy i have shared, is related to {take notice, kia mataara, mohiotanga} from the {five ways to wellbeing} check out this resource here.

if you a battling in a silent space, please know you are not alone. here are some things that might help you out... living with a black dog is the newest video from matthew and andrea johnstone; an moving resource to sit and watch with someone you trust.

depression.org.nz - an online journal on this website walks you through identifying where you are at and how to get help. it is never a shameful thing to find a way through.

reach out. we can all feel like we are in a battle and an important thing to do is to call on reinforcements. your trusted ones can be a great support. 

please contact me at graciousgoodnessblog @ gmail.com

kia kaha {stand strong} my friends

:: holding on to the good ::