Keep looking up, even when you feel down.

Being human means that we are a mixed bag of emotions. One of the lessons we learn, to a greater or lesser degree depending on our upbringing, is how to deal with these emotions. Have you ever watched as a young child has had a temper tantrum in a supermarket and found yourself wondering what type of adult that child will grow up to be? Fortunately, it's possible, with the right training for children to learn that this isn't the right, or even the best, way to achieve what you want.

As a child we find it easy to express how we feel. If a baby is hungry they cry; if  happy they laugh; and how many of us have been on the receiving end of a suspicious stare from a toddler? But as we grow up and especially when we reach adulthood, many of us find it hard to show how we are feeling, especially when we are sad or even angry. Suppressing these negative emotions is one of many causes of Clinical Depression. I know because it happened to me. But this isn't what this blog is about.

 

I have a friend who has published a book about growing up in and out of the care system, and her experiences of life after being launched out into the 'big, wide world'. In it she talks about the time when she was homeless and living on the streets. At this time she remembers lying in the gutter and looking up at the 'Brightness of the Stars'. Now in her 40's she is a successful author, speaker, Mother, among other things. Somehow this young sapling who, through no fault of her own, reached depths that many of us will never experience, yet managed to reach up to the 'Brightness of the Stars' and turn her life completely around. If you want to find out more then I recommend buying her book titled 'Brightness of the Stars:.......' available now on Amazon or through her website, www.Lisacherry.co.uk.

This made me wonder, if she hadn't been looking up, would she have found the strength and courage to turn things around? If you walk around constantly looking down all you see is the rubbish and detrius of life or your own feet that are tired and weary from the trudging journey that you're on. This can make you feel as if that's the way life will always be and remove all hope. Looking down it's very easy to become so wrapped up in yourself and your own problems that you fail to see the beauty and possibilities of life or even the hands that are being stretched out to help you.

I know that it's not easy. It takes an enormous effort to keep looking up when you are down in the depths. In her first book 'Soul Journey' Lisa shares the stories of other women who have risen above their circumstances and made a happy, successful life for themselves. It is possible.

When I was depressed my children were 'the stars' that helped me get through each day and gave me the strength that I needed to fight my way back to health. I'm sure we all have something that we recognise as 'our stars', a reason to fight. The gift of life itself is sometimes enough if we can only see it. There is something truly inspiring about 'The Brightness of the Stars'.