Hellloooooo all you beautiful humans,

I had an interesting message the other day from one of my followers on social media which spun me for a bit of a loop.  I didn’t see this coming but am glad I’ve gone through this process.

You see this person explained to me that my posts on social media (my inspirational morning posts) while I mean them to be positive, she was finding them to be, “Dangerous and insensitive rhetoric.” 

First, I was very hurt from the comment because as many of you know, my goal in life is to make people smile and feel good.  My morning posts are meant to do that - make people feel good.   The thought that my posts were being received as hurtful was a shock to me.  Once I got over the initial shock, I tried to see it from their perspective.

They explained that, “There are many people struggling in the world and simply choosing to be happy is not possible for many people...the rhetoric you're using, while I realize is meant to be positive, is dangerous and insensitive.”

Like I said, it took me some time to get over the initial shock of receiving a comment like this but I am grateful to this person for reaching out and letting me know how they feel.  This life lesson has taught me a lot.  

I want to clarify that I am by no means a healthcare professional. What I am sharing is just my thoughts and opinions that have helped me along the way.  My hope is that by sharing my story I might make someone else feel better.  My quotes come to me like a gust of wind after I finish my meditation and stretching routine, I grab my pen and paper to simply write without thought, just pure action.

You see for many years I suffered from crippling depression and anxiety about my life and where it was going.  I hated myself and felt like a loser who couldn’t amount to anything.  For me what helped was realizing that I am the master of my own destiny, that I am in control of my actions.

Where did I get this notion?  I remember it as though it was yesterday.  I was speaking with my close friend Rob (he's my big brother) about how I was feeling, about how I was questioning my life and my purpose.  He listened for some time and then wrote down three words on a piece of paper and slid it over to me.  Before I could read them he said,  “think about each word and how they make you feel.  Read them a couple times and then I’ll explain this to you.”

I turned over the piece of paper and read the words.

Circumstance

Choice

Action

I read them over and over and felt something powerful inside me, it was as though I could feel something deep inside me turning.  When I was ready I looked at him for further instruction and he said, “ Right now your circumstance is that you’re sitting here listening to me.  Now, you can see you have choices.  You can continue to sit and listen or you can choose to get up, close your ears, and ignore me completely.  Your action is what you act upon.  So your action to continue sitting here listening to me brings you to your new circumstance. Or, you can choose to walk away. You have choices.  You see how it comes full circle and continuously loops?  In short it's all about your awareness in this moment. Be aware of this moment for it's all we truly have.  Be aware of your circumstances, choices and actions.”

I felt as though my world changed in that moment. I felt in control. I felt grounded. I felt like I could achieve anything because I could make choices which I could act upon to create my new circumstances.  Alas I felt in the the drivers seat and best of all I felt aware of the moment at hand.  I was present enough to feel my stomach swirling with emotion as if I’d swallowed a box of fireworks.  My mind expanded and raced with possibilities.  Could it really be this easy?  Could life really be stripped bare to just three simple words?  For me it had, and it changed my life forever.  I will be forever grateful to Rob for expanding my mind in that moment.  Having conversations with him are always enlightening, I just wish he lived closer so we could do them in person again. 

You see this is why a lot of my posts are written the way they are. I focus on choices and actions because for me, they're at the foundation of who we are.  We all have choices that we act upon, whether we consciously or subconsciously make them. It’s up to us to be aware enough to see the choices we are making and take action at the ones which will create positive circumstances.

Going back to that persons comments about my posts being dangerous and insensitive. I can see now their point because let's face it they can be insensitive, if you choose to see them that way.  They do put the onus on the reader to see them as positive or negative.  I hope my readers see them as empowering but I can see how they can be taken in a darker way.   If you do feel that my posts are dangerous or insensitive I welcome you to come forward and have a conversation with me because that is NOT their purpose.  I am not a mental healthcare expert but I will do everything in my power to help you, including pointing you in the direction of some help lines or crisis lines of professionals who can help aid you.

You as the reader right now have a choice and you can act upon that choice. It's really that simple.  In my eyes we have the power to change our lives with our actions. When you consciously see your choices and act upon them you will feel positivity impact your life.  Any circumstance we find ourselves in we have choices. Do we choose to act upon things that will positivity impact us or do we subconsciously choose to act upon negative choices?  The power is ours.

With all this said, I understand that there are mental health issues that I know nothing about and to those people I apologize if my comments or quotes make you feel something negative.  Please if they do I expect that you will reach out to me as this person did and we can find you some help for I don't want anyone to feel bad.  Please don't be embarrassed, your well being is very important to me.

I hope this blog post has helped you to see your current circumstance.  Now you have many choices that can bring you happiness.  Choose to act on one of those positive choices and your new circumstance will be lighter and brighter.

Much love my friends.

Xoxoxo

Lennard