Friday Waypoints- 12/14/18

Sometimes you simply need a break. I rarely get sick. Hopefully, it’s because I eat well, exercise, love my family, friends and job, and because I take care of myself. But I was under the weather this past week and I decided to take a day off.

Meaningful Moments- Taking some time off

I really didn’t do a thing. I binge-watched a couple of movie trilogies. Grazed on food throughout the day. I laid around and did nothing.

I felt a little guilt because of my “purpose driven” way of thinking. It’s difficult to disconnect from that.

But I woke up feeling better physically and mentally.  I think that it helped me recover from whatever I had. This is the “body mind connection” that so many have written about. Your body and mind are so closely connected that they catch each other’s diseases. That is a lesson that I continue to learn and apply.

Movie I watched

I am a Veteran. I enjoy watching historical movies about war. I think it’s a “band of Brothers” kind of thing. A friend who enjoys classic movies came over for dinner and he suggested “The Paths of Glory,” starring Kirk Douglas. It was directed by Stanley Kubrick. It’s a movie made in 1957 about WWI.

What I didn’t know about this movie is that it was one of the first anti-war movies made. It was heart wrenching.

Take some time and buy or rent the movie. It won’t change your mind about the senseless nature of most wars, but it will humanize the losses that we experience as a nation and as a people during war.

Lessons from My Clients- Talking Helps

When teenagers and their families come to see me (and other therapists as well) they talk. And they get better. I see it all the time. Things get bottled up and sometimes a teen needs to talk. Talking to me helps and talking to each other helps too. Things can get a little heated during our sessions.

But when family members look at each other and talk and cry, it’s therapeutic.

A 10-year wonderful girl was able to tell her absent father how much he had hurt her by abandoning her. He wasn’t there, but she was able to say the things that she has wanted to say to him. “Daddy, you really hurt me, when you stopped seeing me for no reason.”

She had been blaming herself. We talked. I saw the burden that she was carrying get a little lighter.