Focus on the Light

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me – everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4: 8-9

When you hear things like “keep your eye on the prize” or “the light at the end of the tunnel” what does that mean to you? For me, it’s a reminder that the dark times I might be walking through are not the final destination, but part of the journey. Think about your journey. Think about the journey that has been 2020. It’s been a rough one, no matter what phase of life or financial situation you’ve been in. We’ve all experienced loss of some sort, be it the loss of a social life, a loved one, financial security, job security, a sense of normal… and it’s probably given you some bouts with depression and Sadness. Like I said, it’s been rough. So how do you deal with all that Sadness? How do you move forward without falling apart and stopping short of ever being Happy again?

First, I’ll tell you to remember that you CAN be Happy again. Our emotions are always changing and that means that just like Happiness is temporary, so is Sadness. You CAN be Happy again, you just have to be patient and keep pushing. What does that even mean? Being patient and waiting for Happiness? It means that Sadness has it’s place, it deserves to be felt, and when it has run its course it will sit down and let other emotions in. You don’t have to desperately fight for something that wants to naturally reside with you. How do I know? Because of the reminders. Think about all the little things that ever made you Happy. Now think about how often they are seen in the world. You would probably lose count if you tried to remember them all, and run out of room on your paper if you tried to write them all down. Happiness is always there, ready to come in when Sadness has made room for it. You just have to remember to do so.

And then there’s the promise. What promise? The promise from God that everything will be ok. Paul wrote to the Philippians about the promise. He said “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me – everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4: 8-9) The promise is the peace of God. That peace is a beautiful thing, that envelops you when you’re alone in the cold, dark, downtrodden world. But how do you activate that peace? By focusing on the light at the end of the tunnel. The scripture tells us what the light is: what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely and admirable. In a year like 2020, and during this Seasonal Sadness, focusing on what we know is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely and admirable can calm your nerves, dry your tears, and envelop you in the warmth of that peace that will calm Sadness right away.

There are many things you can do to focus on that light. Spending time with loved ones, creating new traditions, taking care of your body, talking to a professional, spending time in meditation and prayer, are just a few of the many methods of self care that can ease your Sadness. But the most important thing you can do is be kind to yourself and not beat yourself up for feeling real feelings and being human. Continue to remind yourself that you can’t do it all, and that’s ok. Be sad, it’s ok. Be worried, it’s ok. Be human, it’s ok. Focus on the light, and work your way back to who you want to be.