From the Archives March 27, 2026
The off-week trip through 24 years of blog posts.
It’s OK to Just Enjoy Something For Yourself
So do the things that make you happy. Do the activities that help build you up and give you the energy to go on with your life, no matter what they are or whether people on Instagram will applaud you for them. Please do it for yourself because you deserve it, and you are not required to get anyone else's permission to do things you enjoy.
Related - Family Wisdom
So, as I think back to my plans to write about how important it is to have something joyful to look forward to as part of our healing, no matter how small it may be, I can't think of a better way to explain it than to share with you the wisdom of my grandmother. Overcoming an abusive childhood is difficult, healing is hard, hard work, full of pain and anguish. If, in the midst of all of that, you can still find a way to have a good time, you are on your way to a great life, no matter how unrealistic that may seem at the moment. Keep at it, and keep enjoying what you can!
Quick Thought #23 - Change is Needed, but Callousness is Not
Imperfect as our current system is, it manages to keep plenty of people alive who might not otherwise be. Gutting it to cut spending is callous. As I have said many times, solving the mental health issues that plague the US will involve a lot of hard work, difficult conversations, and measured steps to create positive impacts for all of us. Adults need to be adults and have mature discussions about how to help as many suffering people as possible.
The Benefits of Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs)
Kids who score high for ACEs can get a head start on healing by having more positive experiences where they are safe, loved, and out of vulnerable situations. We should figure out how to help kids have more of that as a society.
The Importance of Just Listening
So please, just listen. Make the space around you, even if it's virtual, a safe space for your friends and loved ones to tell their stories. Find small ways to help, if you can, but also know that by just listening, just sitting with our stories, you are already helping so much.
I say that because that's how I feel about abuse and trauma. It happened, and I'm still here. I won't promise that I'm always feeling great; I'm definitely not always positive. I have good days and bad days. You won't catch me claiming that my abuse made me something that I'm not, and I most definitely will not be looking for any sort of hero status for surviving abuse. What I did promise then, and continue to promise today, is that I'm here, and you're here, and so we are not alone.
Always remember, we are not alone…..
Mike