just had this FB conversation with a beautiful young woman. Can we, for the love of all that is holy, stop being so HARD on ourselves?
Darling Girl:
I don’t feel like I deserve to be happy. I feel like being happy is irresponsible, like I’m not stressing enough about my problem and I therefore ignoring them. I don’t know how to change that thinking.
Laura Parrott Perry : sweetie- are you unhappy, or are you depressed? Two fundamentally different things.
Darling Girl: Oh, I don’t know. I have so many reasons to be happy, so many good things, but I get caught up in the ways that my life isn’t how I feel it should be and forget to enjoy how it is. So,I don’t know if that is causing my unhappiness or if it is caused by depression.
Laura Parrott Perry : if it’s SAD, that’s situational. If you are depressed, that’s MEDICAL. You fundamentally deserve to be happy. If the only thing standing between you and happiness is your self-judgment- knock that shit off.
Darling Girl : Okay. I can do this.
Laura Parrott Perry : YES. YOU CAN. Baby, life is SHORT. This ain’t the suffering Olympics. No gold for being miserable.
Darling Girl: Life IS short, and that’s why I’m stressed that I don’t have it figured out yet.
Laura Parrott Perry: um… HOW old are you? Pretty sure the first digit is 2
Darling Girl: Ha, turning 27 in two weeks
Laura Parrott Perry: Oh. sweetheart. This is what your 20’s are FOR. Figuring things out. Making glorious mistakes. You are RIGHT ON TRACK.
You are right on track, sweetheart. You are figuring things out, like it is your JOB- because IT IS YOUR JOB. Give yourself a BREAK, lovely girl- because the world will NOT. Breathe. Think. Pray. Eat. Sleep…. Repeat.
Love you.
Laura
:-(. She should exercise too. A strong healthy body is a reward only you can give yourself. A challenge, yes, but feeling good feels good. Good luck sweet young lady. We’ve been there and are pulling for you.
baaaaaah. Sitting at my desk holding back the tears. I needed this. I thought I would have it “together” by 26, and it’s such a relief to be reminded that I don’t have to.
Thank you.
What beautiful advice. She is lucky to have you in her corner.
I agree so good to have someone to share honest truths with you when you’re down on yourself. Blessings Laura!
I just heard a quote that was attributed to Oscar Wilde, :”If you don’t know what you want to be, you have to reinvent yourself every day; you’ll never know what you want to be, and that is your reward.”
I’m in my sixties, have had a broad and varied work life, but I’m still and always trying to work things out….in the end it’s friendship and love that lasts, and counts the most. x