Iām having a bad day. It happens. So I take my own advice for people who are having a bad day, and I get out of my house. I go for a walk. I work hard to push negative and hurtful thoughts out of my head, and I replace them with positive things. Itās little observations at first, like the trees are starting to drop their leaves, a dog has a cute beard, this personās Halloween graveyard has tons of great puns in it.Ā
I take this positive voice thatās enjoying things in the neighborhood, and I use it to talk to myself. I remind myself that my experience is valid, even if random strangers who know nothing about my experience tell me that it doesnāt, on account of my privilege and success. I remind myself that this terrible way I feel isnāt forever. I remind myself that my wife and children love me. I remind myself to make an appointment with my therapist.
Iāve walked a couple of miles by the time I get back to my street, and when Iām a few houses away from mine, I feel better. I still donāt feel good, but Iāve moved my day from a 1 to a 2 on my 5 point scale. It isnāt the 4 I am hoping to achieve, but itās better, and just moving from 1 to 2 is enough.
I am enough. I am enough for my wife and my kids and my dogs, and Iām learning to be enough for myself. Iām learning to let go ā trying to let go ā of theĀ pain I feel whenever Iām reminded that Iām not enough for at least one person in my life, because itās not my fault.
One of my neighbors comes out of her house and tells me that her daughterās English teacher is a fan of my writing, and when he mentioned it to her class, she told him that weāre neighbors. He was excited by that, and asked her to ask me if Iād come into the class to talk to them about writing and being a writer.
I tell her that Iād love to do it. I donāt tell her how humbling and overwhelming it is to feel wantedĀ by someone because Iāve done things that matter. I hope she doesnāt see me squeeze the tears back into the corners of my eyes.
Her daughter comes outside, and we talk about me coming to her class to talk about writing and being a writer. She tells me how much her teacher loves me (those are her exact words) and I feel so lucky and grateful to have done something that somebody cares about, something that a teacher feels makes me worthy of speaking to a class of 11th graders.
So I give them my email address, and we resolve to coordinate with her teacher next week. Iāll probably go speak to her class sometime in December.
By the time Iām done talking with them, I have moved from a 2 to a 3 on my 5 point scale, and thatās a HUGE improvement over the 1 I was feeling when I walked down my driveway.
So Iām sharing this good news that I hope inspires and comforts anyone else who is having a bad day. Itās possible, through loving ourselves and allowing the kindness of others to get past our defenses, to turn a day thatās awful into a day thatās okay, and it can happen really quickly.
Iām glad I took my own advice, and Iām grateful that I have an opportunity to share it with all of you who are reading this.