Here’s the first in hopefully a long series of positive
blogs, showcasing the highlights from my positivity diary for the month of
January. I’ve picked a set of entries that were particularly salient to me, and
I’m going to talk you through some of them:
Bought Mom some flowers as thanks for remaining positive over Christmas
Bought Mom some flowers as thanks for remaining positive over Christmas
This was one of the first entries to the diary, in fact made
on the very day that I bought it. Most of you know I’ve been ill with
depression over Christmas, and there were some other things going on as well
that had the potential to make it a very difficult time for us indeed. In spite
of all this, my Mom remained upbeat, positive and supportive all the way
through it, and as I walked past a small flower shop in Stourbridge, I felt
that some thanks were in order. So I bought her some flowers. What kind? Purple
ones. I haven’t got a clue what the name of the plant was.
Went for a walk
This one does come up a lot. There are times when I get stuck in
my own head, and the only way to get out of it again is to do something. Very
often, this involves sticking on my CD player and going for a walk around Lower
Gornal. It doesn’t necessarily always stop the negative thoughts, but at least
I’ve done something with my evening, and I can feel positive about that.
Meeting an old friend
This one’s in two parts. It actually happened the second
week into the New Year, where I went out for lunch with a couple of friends I
knew at school. We’ve remained friends ever since, but because of the different
directions our lives have taken over the last few years, we rarely see one
another these days. Nonetheless, I can go out for lunch with those guys and it
would be no different to if I’d seen them the previous week. It was so nice to
see them again, and I hope we can make it a semi-regular thing for the future;
it’s definitely conducive to feeling positive!
The second part happened the previous week. After a
particularly tough weekend, I happened to look at my phone before I went to bed
on the Sunday night, and saw the text message from my friend asking if I wanted
to meet up the following Friday. Getting that message made me very happy
indeed: for the first time in a very long time, I felt an involuntary grin
spread across my face. Moments like that are the reason I started this diary in
the first place. Let’s hope there’ll be many more.
John Lennon and Chuck
Berry
A friend I know from the music scene shared a video of John
Lennon and Chuck Berry playing Johnny B. Goode together on the Mike Douglas
show. Now, I’m not a massive fan of either, but given all the musical legends
that have passed away over the last month, moments like this should not be
forgotten. Thanks for sharing!
Talked to my Sister
about video games
Sometimes I’m amazed at how much common ground I have with
my sister on video games, of all things. It’s always nice to sit down and talk about
games we used to play when we were a lot younger, and get nostalgic about video
games that just aren’t made like that anymore.
So, there you go: a selection of entries from the diary, let’s
hope February is just as good!
Before I go, a note about how I’m getting on with the
depression: I’m doing OK for now. I’ve reached a point where I’m behaving
normally most of the time, and anything I’m dealing with in private is just
that: private. I’ve become somewhat emotionally detached from the relevant
situation; not an entirely positive statement but it means I can think clearly enough
to be able to deal with it and I’m not tearing myself to pieces about it
anymore. I don’t know how much it means that I’ve recognised it for what it is,
but I’m in a better place now than I was a month ago.
