Sometimes, it is a big, massive, sideswiping thing that knocks us into a tailspin.
Other times, it is a series of smaller things that will send us into the downward spiral.
Those things can happen all at once.
Or maybe they pile up over time.
And sometimes there is a multitude of background poop that is so ubiquitous we don’t even recognize it is there anymore, we’ve become so accustomed to it. And then all it takes is a small nudge and vwoop! Down we go.
It can be so tempting to belittle those breakdowns and, more harshly, to make people wrong for losing it over such “small things.”
But we can do much better for ourselves, and for others, than to fall into that reductive trap and consider only large things or events as “worthy” or “proper” or “justifiable” causes of great malaise.
We can cast our empathy and mindfulness nets wide and know that we’re not seeing the whole picture.*
We can grant a bit of space and compassion and create a clearing for resolution and peace of mind.
We can pull ourselves out of the tailspin, regain our heading, and plot a course for sunnier skies.
* This, of course, is especially true in the case of other people, since we’re not there in their head and in their experience 100% of the time. Especially when they’re at the outsized effect of outside impacts, limitations, and burdens due to social, economic, racial, gender, familial, and etc factors…
Lynx Thoughts 