Personal Issues.
Do you have “personal issues?” Yeah, me too. Ever had someone try to make you feel bad about or less than because you have “personal issues?” Yeah, me too. But my real question is this.
Who doesn’t have personal issues?
If you say you don’t, that would imply that you have nothing you have to deal with in your personal life. You have everything figured out. You are perfect. Well if that’s the case, kudos to you for figuring out what no one else on the planet has been able to solve.
Our “personal issues” make up only half of who we are. The other half is how we respond to them: Are you working on these things or are you ignoring them like they don’t exist? What side of that line do you fall on? Look, I know it can be hard to face some of them head on, but remember to be patient with yourself. It’s not a sprint, life is a marathon. But if we don’t even attempt to grow, the old saying stands that “hurt people hurt people.” And the cycle of hurting and creating more “issues” will just continue. We have a chance to change the trajectory of our lives and other people’s.
There’s a lot of chatter right now about flattening the curve. I’ve seen so many little animated cartoons and pictures of a circle of matches that has been lit on fire but when one match steps out of the circle, it protects all the rest from getting burnt. The illustration works perfectly with the current state of the world and how practicing social distancing can keep others from being infected, but it is also a perfect way of seeing how battling our demons can save others from being attacked.
Stepping out of the circle isn’t a huge feat, but the effect it can have may be monumental.
“Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still.” Chinese Proverb
There is too much negative connotation when people acknowledge they have “issues.” We are viewed as damaged, lost, crazy, the list goes on and yet those of us who embrace this fact are in actuality the ones healing and growing. Anyone who uses your “issues” against you in any way, has their own “personal issue” for doing so. Be forgiving of them because they have not had that moment yet in which they’ve chosen to acknowledge and to grow. Don’t stress about their hurtful words, use that energy on something positive.
Here’s the thing. Life is hard. I’ve said it before and I know I’ll end up saying it many more times. Life is fucking hard. Let’s not make it any harder than it has to be by being hard on ourselves for something so common as “having issues.” Because we all have them.
“Issues are like assholes, we’ve all got one.” Tonya Hurley
Be gentle with yourself. And be gentle with others. At the end of the day, we’re all in this together. Like it or not.
