It Is Possible!

Hi! It's nice to be writing here again. I didn't intend to take such a long break, but, well, I did. I took a trip back home to visit family and friends, so that certainly contributed to my relative silence. Mainly, though, I think I needed to recharge.

I've been slowly reading Memories, Dreams, Reflections by Carl Jung. It's my first immersive experience with Jung's work, and it's been fascinating, enlightening, inspiring, affirming, and serendipitous. (A lot of 'ings'!) It will undoubtedly influence my work here, although I cannot yet say how, exactly.

In the meantime, I did some further thinking about the name for this blog. I've been vaguely mystified by it since I picked it, and I've seriously considered changing it on more than one occasion. It doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, you know? Mental Health for Humans. There's so much buzz online and on bookshelves about "branding" and "web friendly content" and the like, and I've realized all along that this blog pretty much flies in the face of what's considered clever formatting. But what I finally decided is this:

I DON'T CARE ABOUT THOSE THINGS.

So what if the name of this blog is strange, or even awkward? So what if I don't always keep my blog posts short, or pepper them with witty lists, or find the latest, greatest bells and whistles to entice Today's Discerning Reader?

I'm my own person, and this blog is a conscious and unconscious reflection of who I am, and what I'm about. Why should I try to make this blog be anything but my blog? Why shouldn't I take my own advice and, you know, honor who I really am? "Mental Health for Humans," a name I created, is the perfect name for this blog which I also happened to create. So that's that.

But I realized something else, too. Namely, I have a real ax to grind, and have for some time, about our society's general perception of mental health. Mental health isn't just a subject for psychiatrists, therapists, nurses, students, patients, or the families and friends of patients. No, mental health is for ALL of us. Mental health, simply and profoundly is, yes, for humans to consider -- because if you have mental activity (which we humans certainly do), you have some degree, or lack thereof, of mental health. It's just like how if you have a body, you have some degree, or lack thereof, of physical health. You dig?

It makes me sad that my culture so strongly devalues giving attention to one's own inner life. We are trained to believe that happiness is to be found outside us somewhere -- maybe in a new car, or a bigger bank account, or in our partner. Culturally, we give lip service to individualism and personal responsibility, but we are quick to blame other people for our problems. We proclaim to value strength and toughness, but we avoid coming to terms with ourselves.

We humans are full of contradictions, and that's fine, in and of itself. However, we get into real trouble with our contradictions when we try to bury them, or to pretend they aren't there, i.e., when we try to avoid them. (Not coincidentally, that's how we get into real trouble with most things.) For my part, I feel it's important to do what I can to shine a light on these matters, because I believe they unnecessarily enslave far too many of us.

It is possible to live a free and satisfying life. Will it be perfect? No! Does it have to be? Heck no! Life is a strange and mysterious process of becoming. It is ever unfolding into an uncertain future, and it does so along an often curving and elliptical path. We are marvelously complex and fascinating creatures, and no two of us is the same. My hope is for us all to move toward a freer, kinder, and more peaceful shared reality.

But it starts with you. It starts with me. It starts, not "out there" somewhere, but "in here" -- inside your own (my own) mind and heart. Recall the words which are variously attributed to Gandhi: "Be the change you wish to see in the world." The wisdom, values, dreams, and essential self which you seek are all right there, right now. Enjoy it. And enjoy the ride that is this lifetime.

Thanks for reading.