What does your life reflect?

Bremen
Originally uploaded by apreussler.

"We don't see things as THEY are; we see them as WE are" Anais Nin.

How you see the world is a direct reflection of who you are. For the world to be brighter, more wonderful, you will need to become more full of joy. The world doesn't change when we are depressed or up, just we do.

A New Beginning

A New Beginning
Originally uploaded by Kyle Slattery.

Life is full of contrasts. The flower would not seem as bright were it not for the darkness. The dark is itself made even darker by the presence of the golden petals.
Each day is a new begining. Yesterday is over and done with. Tomorrow doesn't exist.
Cherish the contrasts, as they make life interesting.
Love each day, and your life will be grand.

We don't start out depressed, do we??

Originally uploaded by uaeadorable.

At some point in our lives, a physical, chemical change occurs. Amazingly, we now have wonderful medicines to combat this imbalance. Don't forget though, that YOUR efforts make a difference. You can:
- surround yourself with good things
- develop a support group of friends and family
- Put wonderful events on your calendar that draw you forward
- Participate in a Procovery circle

yin yang

yin yang
Originally uploaded by Doctor Beef.

This lovely photo is titled "yin yang" the Chinese term for the balance of opposites. A balanced life is quite difficult to achieve. Especially if you are up (manic) or down (depressed).
One of the important tools for maintaining balance is a journal. As you reflect on your day at the end of the day, think about what was balanced and what was unbalanced in your life.
- time alone vs. time with others
- passive rest time and active time
- time spent developing mind, body and/or spirit
- time with old friends and time making new ones

You get the idea.

Life is fragile

Beautifully delicate
Originally uploaded by Liesje.

You can still see the live-giving veins on this leaf/blossom. Life is extreemely short. What will you do with this day? What dreams will you dream? Whose life will you brighten with something as simple as being present to them, smiling, or listening.

"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives"
Annie Dillard

Be sure and visit the main Procovery site: procovery.com

Taking a spill

california lounge chair
Originally uploaded by astrocruzan.

When mental disorder hits us, it often upsets our lives completely. Sometimes it's catastrophic. At first we swim desperately, trying to keep our head above water. Later, tales from other "survivors" help us to know that there CAN be life after mental illness. Acceptance of what is, and facing forward are essential to reclaiming a productive fulfilling life.

No surfer I know rides facing backward. . .It just won't work.

It's Not Easy to Be Green

It's Not Easy to Be Green IV
Originally uploaded by CaritoJames.

Nor is it easy having a mental disorder. But I don't have to tell YOU that. Ah, but the important thing is how we use our eyes. . .how we choose to SEE the world. Our attitude can transform the way we view the world, which in turn can transform US. As we take positive control over our lives, our vision spills over onto our friends and anyone with whom we come in contact.

The seasons start to change. .

Snow Mandarin on Orange
Originally uploaded by DigiPub.

Already in parts of the world the snows have arrived. Denver just got 8 inches yesterday.
If you have Seasonal Affective Disorder, are you making plans NOW, while you are not depressed?
Things like:
- A lightbox to help you get the light your body needs.
- Some positive and interesting stuff to read.
- A Procovery Circle to help you have a positive, forward-looking place to be.
- What else? Leave a comment. . .

Falling Apart and Keeping Faith

 Have you ever seen a cracked cloud before? Sometimes our lives are shattered by a mental disorder. We will NEVER be the same again. Learning to accept the change is extreemely important. Then take a look a how you can make your life meaningful, worthwhile, and joyful. It IS possible, but you must look FORWARD, not backward.
So try to be like a cloud,  clouds don't crack or break, they just float!!

Photo by Timothy K. Hamilton, Creativity+ Photography, all rights reserved

Still procovering without formal ties

I am coaching a group of people in which procovery is our common goal but I am out of the formal picture of procovery - institutionally speaking.

For some people the book with detailed steps is helpful. For us, direct communication on taking proper steps and making healthy decisions is working.

Helping others make healthy choices is what I do. Procovery may be the formal name of it.

I hope God and Kathy won't mind if I am a little out of step formally but still quite spiritually in the picture. Direct confrontation is the method I like to use. Can it work? I hope so.

Procovery Strategies - #s nine & ten

Sticking with procovery when the going gets rough. Sometimes in the midst of crisis, all procovery efforts are abandoned or forgotten. But procovery efforts during crisis can greatly determine whether this particular crisis will be just part of the procovery process, a detour on the way to procovery, a turning point toward procovery, or a loss of will in getting there at all.

Self-care actions to take and choices to make. Illness can loom so deadening, so debilitating, so destructive that we assume it requires something strong, powerful, and exceptional to beat it. Self-care may seem too “anecdotal,” too incidental to have an impact. But in fact self-care makes use of the most powerful medicine of all—the active participation of the individual.

Copyright 2000 by Kathleen Crowley. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

The sun is always there. . .

Originally uploaded by The Tables Have Turned..

It's just a matter of facing up to it. If we search, we can find that spark, that joy that makes life worthwhile. It requires getting to or finding the right vantage point. And that takes effort we don't feel like making at times.
New perspectives can enhance our experience. Looking at things a new way makes them fresh and new again.

How are you doing at the end of the day?

sunset clouds
Originally uploaded by strollers.

"A single day is enough to make us a little larger, or, another time, a little smaller"

Paul Klee

From the "Procovery Cards" by Kathleen Crowley

Not happy

City swing'n at the park (silly furry saturday)
Originally uploaded by bulldog1.

It's sad the sometimes we can be so sad in the midst of what normally would be a happy situation. Sometimes we're ridiculously enjoying life when the situation seems so normal to everyone else.
I'ts important to remember that we can see life through glasses that are dark or kaliedoscopic. Neither one is quite real.