If you’ve been reading my articles, you know that I am a fan of Marianne Williamson. In one of her books she tells of when she, for the zillionth time, found herself on her knees once again asking God to help her out of a jam she had gotten herself into. She was praying up a storm, as my grandmother would’ve said, when suddenly it occurred to her, “You know what, Marianne? Why don’t you just stay on your knees!” She was on her way to a nervous breakdown.

Marianne describes that journey this way: “You know you’re headed for a nervous breakdown when your absolute last resort suddenly seems to be a very good idea.”

Yep, it’s time to get off the train at the next station. Some things, if not most things in your life, aren’t working for your best. Changes must be made -- that is, if you are to survive!

“WOW, such drama, Cyndee! And you know this because?”

No, I haven’t had a breakdown in the classic sense of being hospitalized or in therapy, although in retrospect both might have been a good idea. Nope, I did it MY way. And it was a long and painful journey. But I am here to talk about it. No matter how you do it, it will mean that you are going to have to come face to face with your own “stuff”. Honesty is a pre-requisite for the course. Without it, you might as well stay on the train.

Sometimes it’s absolutely necessary for us to assume the position, as the cops always say, and be reminded that we’ve been here far too many times before. We are not learning the lesson. And life will accommodate you. Even though the details may change, it will send you the same lesson as many times as needed. For some this can mean an entire lifetime, while others will stubbornly refuse to learn. Life is against them, no matter how hard they try.

It’s said that insanity is when you do the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result. Date the same, marry the same, divorce the same type of person and can’t understand why. Can’t keep a job, a promise, or an appointment and wonder why no one trusts them. Are arrogant, bitter, envious and non-supportive; their favourite words are me, mine, I, and they wonder why they have no friends.

We’ve all met people like that. Hell, sometimes we’ve even exhibited some of those qualities ourselves…hand on heart, now. But hopefully we have moved on and upward.

There’s an old gospel song that says: “I’m not who I want to be, but thank God I’m not who I used to be.”

Got that right!

Cyndee

This article is the property of Cyndee Peters AB, Stockholm, Sweden
and may not be used or duplicated without the expressed permission of the author. 
www.cyndeepeters.com March. 2009