A few days ago I woke up feeling a little bit down in the dumps.
For a generally chipper, happy-go-lucky guy it was something that doesn’t occur too often.
But, alas, there are indeed days like this when it feels like the world is against me.
Things hadn’t been going my way and that ugly experience of feeling sorry for myself bombarded my thoughts and flooded my body and mind.
It’s crazy, actually.
Crazy how low self-esteem can instantly take control of every aspect of your life, how the way you perceive yourself can influence and impact those around you.
Personal happenings in my life as well as the heartbreaking news that dominates global and local media on a daily basis made me question whether it was worth going around spreading happiness and joviality.
I asked myself if I was deserving of my place in this world gone mad.
Just this week the BCT reported on a story of how a Benoni gentleman was killed by two homeless men, men he was trying to assist.
Things like that quashed the joy that was trying to force a return to my usually cheerful persona.
It was then that I attempted to block out the negativity that was overpowering my mind like a ruthless Viking siege on an unsuspecting Scandinavian village.
I took the backseat and regrouped my thoughts.
I weighed up the good and the bad.
I went back to all the things that tickled the funny bone of my spirit – incredible friends, supportive family and all the inspirational and remarkable people who I have had the privilege of meeting during my career.
It was then that I calmed down.
I remembered the love in the eyes of a close friend who I personally witnessed get on one knee and propose to his future wife.
I went back to the moment when I saw my beloved nephew as a newborn in the hospital for the first time.
It was there, in my happy place, where I found peace with myself for the remainder of my day and for the days after that.
Since I am human it is a guarantee that these unfortunate days of pessimism and despondency will again occur – there is no doubt about it.
However, once the mind returns to those heartwarming experiences of the past and revisits those places where the beauty of the world is abundant in every little thing around you then it is indeed impossible to remain in a constant state of doom and gloom.
Here’s a little song that helped me out, maybe it can help you too:
LG
