Stop and smell the roses

Slow down. Stop and smell the roses, feel the rain, taste the air (although it may be harmful) and see the blueness of the sky.

More than ever now, we need to pay attention to these simple things in what has become an overwhelmingly complicated world. We believe we are making it better and in many ways we are; the medical breakthroughs, the conservationism and social justice.

 But in many ways we are also planning our demise. We have created an epidemic of depression; a mental health crisis.

And while our government has recognized the problem, the solution is not removing stigma or throwing money at the issue. These are Band-Aids. Blanket support systems are inadequate and insincere.

We need to address the root cause and accept we are our worst enemy.  Every day the pressures are mounting, expectations are rising and the pot is boiling.

The root cause is the unrealistic expectations we have sewn and society has cultivated.

We are perfectly imperfect. Stop pretending to be something you aren’t and start being who you were intended to be: a human being. God did not create us to be Him. He created us with freedom of choice and with the amicable ability to learn from making mistakes. Why would He give us this gift if we were not meant to fail?

And when we fail, we need to treat people like people. Somehow life has become an outward competition about everything. And the winners are splashed all over social media to make those who aren’t winning feel even more insecure.  We aren’t animals fighting over the last piece of meat. We are people with feelings.

Embrace your failures and empathize with your fellow peoples. Learn about them. If we understand more of what makes each other tick and why we feel or do what we do, we are building compassion.

I challenge you to be kind to others, encourage them and save your competitive attitude for the ball game.

I challenge you to slow down and reevaluate what’s really important to you. Appreciate the small things.

You are bursting with potential and although it may not fit in a cookie-cutter, hang on because your time is coming.