It is time to get real, America. Stop with our societal false advertising. We need to stop being the dysfunctional family where everything looks good on the surface but behind closed doors abuse of all kinds are being played out. It is happening in every state, every county, every town, every neighborhood - false images, fake smiles and all so we can attempt to sell some plastic wrapped package, ourselves.
I am not trying to be negative rather I am being real. There's a reason why our country is experiencing what the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has stated in 2018, "suicide is a leading cause of death in the US. Suicide rates increased in nearly every state from 1999 through 2016."
I am not trying to be negative rather I am being real. There's a reason why our country is experiencing what the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has stated in 2018, "suicide is a leading cause of death in the US. Suicide rates increased in nearly every state from 1999 through 2016."
That is absolutely a tragedy!
WHY?
FUCKED UP!
What is happening to our society?
Depressing, isn't it? Kinda blows out of the water all those "stay positive" Law of Attraction type thoughts we're told would be our salvation. You know the ones I am talking about. At least you should if you've been alive since "The Secret" was published in 2006. If you have lived in a cave it basically boils down to "Think it, Believe it, Receive it," and while on the surface that sounds great, it leaves out some basic facts of life. Life is more than what you make of it, it is hard work. There will be curve balls. There will be ups and more than likely quite a few downs. Preparation is the key to survival, especially when it comes to dealing and working through all those emotions during the down periods of life.
I wish more people would have told me that when I was younger so I wouldn't be sitting here at the age of 52 as an attempted suicide survivor. I could have easily ended up a tragic statistic when I was a teen as there were more than one attempt to take my own life, but somehow I survived and had to learn on my own just how to deal with those emotions that drove me to the Hell known as despair. Fake smiles and false images didn't work as I definitely grew up in one of those homes where what happened behind closed doors, stayed there - if anything, that lifestyle drove me to swallow the pills I had hoped would end the suffering.
Looking back at all of that I now know I really didn't want to die, I just wanted to stop feeling emotions I didn't understand how to work through- everyone else was happy, or so I thought and I was going through that state of delusion before social media was invented. I could only imagine what it is like now for someone with suicide on the brain in our now short attention span of a society where soundbytes "Think Positive" are considered substance.
Is it a wonder why in the last couple of decades drug addictions have also risen at a staggering rate. Big Phrama has shoved band-aids down our throats in how to deal with pain. They get rich while our neighbors die in efforts to stop feeling pain, physical and emotional and mainly because there is a lack of resources and our children are not given the tools to understand and appreciate their entire range of emotions, "Don't worry, be happy," right?
Take that in...
Let it sink in...
Since 2006 we've nearly doubled our rate of addiction
How are those happy masks working out?
It shouldn't be surprising that graph nearly mirrors this one!
I've got a secret to share...
THE SECRET is a load of crap!
It doesn't work.
It made quite a few people rich, a few happy in the moment but by and large reality set in for many and to get happy they took drastic measures.
Drug dealers are vacationing off of the fact that just thinking happy thoughts does not deal with our not so happy emotions being shoved into a powder keg.
We were drawn into the gas lighting and turned into a self centered, egotistical, money hungry, lazy, short attention span drones- only to find out our delusional highs came with Earth shattering lows we were not prepared for. During that magic carpet ride our political landscape divided us like never before, gutted our infrastructure of resources, and now we are dealing with the outcome - that is if we're finally ready to get real.
Life is hard. We come into this world fighting to live, fighting to breathe, fighting to survive and when it is time for us to leave life, we're usually worn out. If we live life right, then like after any hard day at work we can go home, relax, and take joy in our accomplishments.
In between being born and dying are lessons to be learned and if we take hold of reality, work through everything presented to us, we will find joy and happiness in our successes - successes that hopefully benefit our loved ones and future generations as much as they do us. Band-aids do not work. If you keep searching out band-aids to get you through your days, sooner or later you will run out of ones to find.
Now, this is only my opinion, but if you want to live a rich life filled with positive memories, you need to work for them. Use the gifts you were born with, learn everything you can, and respect the life you have by owning your story and all those emotions you are feeling. Appreciate and take ownership of those lows so that when you experience the highs the sweeter they will taste.
STOP PRETENDING!
We have an incredible resource at our finger-tips, the internet. Use it to connect to others to learn from, to share with, to support one another through the bullshit curve balls of life. Be real.and stop creating your own isolation of fake smiles and fake images.
Social media has allowed all of us to be influencers. We can either use it to push false faces or use it to be the much needed resource we obviously need.Think about it - look at how all those multi-level marketing companies have turned millions of people into self promoters of BS. The trend now is to get their messages out on social media outlets to push for new recruits (cult-like, eh?) To do that they tell their minions to stay neutral on their profiles in regard to anything that deals with politics, society...etc...to stay positive with "uplifting" posts so that more people feel comfortable buying from them - so they can reach every demographic...every demographic to recruit. We're using this valuable tool to push the wares of a few, using our valuable time, our individual resources, our lives - for greed or perhaps because we've bought into their false advertising of finding joy by wearing a mask and make money while doing it. I'm guilty, I've done it once or twice...but I have to admit, it never felt right.
We all need to step back for a moment and really be honest with ourselves. Get to know our true selves and if you're discontent, know that it is ok to be so - dissect all the whys, feel those emotions, work through them, find your own purpose, define what success is to you. Own your life and share your life with others.
Success doesn't necessarily have to mean your pocket book. Sure, we'd all like not to struggle, but struggle doesn't have to mean you're unhappy. I'm a nurturer - it is what I excel in and enjoy. I am also a communicator. It has taken a long time for me to discover that my purpose is connected to those qualities. When I look back through my life, all I ever wanted to do was be a mother and break dysfunctional cycles. I've been middle class with no real financial concerns and then I've been dirt poor with the weight of the world on my shoulders. Care to know when I've been the happiest? It was despite the weight of some worries- it was when I saw my children flourishing, emotionally well, and reaching for their own dreams - it was during the time when I didn't have a dime to my name. It was also during a time when I was finally accepting all my emotions for what they were and working through them rather than trying to disguise them. I was and am still, very much living. That is my success - the light I learned was mine to strive for.
When I was 14 years old I couldn't see any light down the dark tunnel of life. I was hurting too much with emotions no one else had the time of day to be concerned about nor talk to me about. That is why I tried to end my life.
I venture to say this is why so many people feel help and hopeless as they build up their own walls of isolation because the few times they may have reached out they were greeted by canned sayings of law of attraction.
We've done this to ourselves, this sleep-walk dream state we're in. Reality may be messy at times, there may be uncomfortable things to face as when curve balls hit you in your core, hurt, but once you deal with and face that pain, reality is so much sweeter than in my opinion what I call the lie of The Secret.
My father, one of the most genuine people I have ever known, had a saying he drilled into my head, especially in the years before his death. It is rather crude but filled with honesty, "Wish in one hand, shit in the other and see which fills up first." - a positive slap of reality.
Work towards your goals -
Listen to your inner voice -
FEEL those emotions, all of them - there's nothing to be afraid of when you're based in reality, even those emotions we tend not to like help keep us balanced. And, remember, when we share our experiences, we're connecting with others who may be going through something they think they cannot face, be a beacon - share your pains as much as you do your joys. None of us walk this world alone.
Be the person you were born to be...
Now, go on - live your life, ride all those ups and downs, taking in everything that you can! Be yourself while doing so and do not ever let anyone tell you different! That is true self-empowerment! But first you need to know who YOU are and believe me when I tell you that you're worthy of knowing the truth.
Check back soon to find out how to discover your true self.
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