By Nancy Virden (c)2016

Write your values. What is important to you? Write what kind of person you want to be. Examples: I value honesty. I want to be an open and transparent person; I value calm. I want to be an even-tempered person. Your list can be as long as you like. What do you want?

If you have been living by someone else’s values, remembering your own might take some time. That’s ok, go for it anyway. Denial is not the answer.

We may find we lack the know-how, or the strength to finish a list like this alone. Perhaps the concept of being the kind of person you want is a bit mind-boggling. That’s ok, too. Support groups and therapists tend to be safe helps in this area; church groups, good friends, and teachers may have insights into who they have witnessed you be. It is always our choice to seek support or not. We can pursue antidotes to the status quo and Bah Humbug-type thinking.

To all, I wish for a happy holiday season. May you live by your values, and experience peace in striving to be who you want. Maybe your greatest blessing will be admitting you cannot do life alone.

-COMMENTS WELCOME

Today’s Helpful Word

Mark 12:28-31

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

If you are feeling suicidal, or concerned about someone who is, in the U.S. call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988, or for a list of international suicide hotlines, go here.

If you are suicidal with a plan, immediately call 911 in the U.S. or go to your nearest emergency room. In the EU call 112. (For other international emergency numbers, go here ). Hope and help are yours!

Always the Fight Ministries (ATFM) has been displaying compassion for those fighting mental illness, addiction, or abuse since 2012. Nancy is the founder and voice of ATFM and openly shares her emotional resurrection from despair. NOTE: Nancy is not a doctor or a mental health professional, and speaks only from personal experience and observations. In no way is this website intended to substitute for professional mental or behavioral health care.

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