[Addy]

I'm taking this quote from a friend who posted it today on Facebook:

"It's not the mountains ahead that wear you out; it's the tiny pebble in your shoe."

How true! When we suffer from depression and those intrusive beat-you-up thoughts, its like an annoying pebble gets in our shoe!

And looking ahead at that mountain we have to climb, we start letting that pebble wear us out... instead of stopping... and taking the time... to remove the pebble.

I wish it were easier...

[waves]

Dear Addy

that is a good analogy.

the thing is, i've seen so many people, others, walk on, pebbles, with pebbles and even sharp rocks in their shoes...

i am ashamed that my pebble stops me from climbing the mountain... even from just moving towards the mountain.

and that is why sometimes sometimes i try to muddle forward all the same, fall flat on my face, and feel ashamed for falling.

but when i stop, i feel ashamed of stopping, for a pebble in my shoe.

~ waves ~

[Alffe]

Oh I love this....but, what if it's a pebble that we have no choice but to walk with...that takes a special kind of strength and courage.

[Wren]

And if you have 4 or 5 pebbles you have to walk as carefully and as directly as you can.

[Alffe]

and maybe try to be goal oriented, with a reason to live......

[Addy]

You know, Waves, I hear ya when you mention shame...

I guess we feel shame because we have bought into that stigma we're fed... that mental illness is something to be ashamed of... ya, we exhibit some pretty erratic behaviours... and whenthat darn pebble stops us in our tracks.... its a mental battle with our "selves" to do what we gotta do...

I'm getting pretty good at forgiving myself... I hope you can learn to do that too Waves... it comes with age (some of us have to get real old to say, oh, what the hell... ... it is what it is....)

Yep, Wren and Alffee... sometimes we just don't have a choice... its impossible to remove the pebble......

maybe we could shift it around.... between our toes... or into the arch of our shoe...

Addy