Ask and I Will Answer

Tara at You Know it Happens at Your House Too invited her readers this morning to ask her questions that she would answer in a blog entry. I wondered, "hmmm...what would MY readers ask?"  So, I asked you what you wanted to know, and these are the first 20 questions posed:

I'm sorry Wilson.

I watched the movie Cast Away, starring Tom Hanks, for about the 5th time.  You know how when you watch a movie over and over again, there are times you notice something you didn't notice in the earlier viewings?  That's what happened with me this time, only it wasn't an object or a mistake or an actor I'd seen before. It was like an "a-ha" moment.

Where is the Love?

I've been a bit quiet for a while on this here blog-o-sphere.  I know I'm not alone in the sense that I didn't have the right words to say after the Sandy Hook tragedy. Then the hub-bub of Christmas and the New Year came and went, and still, I had no words.  Everything else to write about just seemed frivolous or irrelevant.  My mind has swirled with thoughts, and yet I just haven't been able to find the right words and put them together coherently.  This is not a post about Sandy Hook, per se. This is not a post about gun control or even mental health care. It's a post about humanity. About decency. About respect for human life.

There's Really No Comparison

"Comparison is the thief of joy." ~ Theodore Roosevelt

I believe that statement.  Whenever you compare two things, one of them will surely suffer.

If you compare what you have in relation to what someone else may have, you may begin to feel as though you don't have "enough" because they have more than you. The nice house, the nice car, the fancy clothes, the cleaning service, vacations, the weekly massage appointments or manicures are all things someone else may be able to do without hesitation but you have to budget and plan for two months to get a manicure wedged in let alone an eyebrow wax or a good haircut at a reputable salon. You may begin to feel slighted by life, by fate, and so begins the unhappiness that results from comparing what you have to what someone else has.

Dying to Wake: Guest Blog by Jessica Hauser, Anchored Strength and Weathered Storms

For today's Mental Health Monday, I am sharing "Dying to Wake," as written by Jessica Hauser who you can find at Anchored Strength and Weathered Storms.  Jessica may have made some choices that you personally disagree with. That being said, her story is very real and intimate, and she has been brave enough to share it with all of us in the hopes that it may help someone else out there struggling in the same ways with thoughts of suicide. If you choose to comment on this post, let your comments be respectful and not judgmental.  We are all human, and there is forgiveness for each of us, and that grace can always start with you.

Here is her story: