One of the greatest gifts you can give people you love is the presumption of innocence.
Years ago, I had a conflict with someone at a family gathering. Later as I reported the bad behavior to my husband, he replied: Did you ever consider she might be having a bad day?
Today, my daughter asked me what my New Year’s resolution was. I told her I would like to be calmer and truth be told this was a resolution that I made several times last year. In 2017 I was trying to be calmer, or to put it another way, clinically-manage my frustration tolerance better. I improved but not as much as I wanted to. I think the reason for my failure was that I hadn’t fully embraced why I lose my cool.I hadn’t fully accepted that I use frustration to avoid being direct.
So this is what we did. It is what we do. We spent all day making the massa sovada, the bread of my ancestors. We baked it the way my dad’s mom had, which she had learned from her mom, and her mom had likely learned from hers. The recipe has changed a little, but with so few ingredients, it remains pretty similar. We do this to connect to my grandma. By connecting to her we connect with each other (which was her biggest passion anyway).
I was swimming with my children on a beautiful beach in Poipu, Kauai when this dialogue took place.
Child: “Mom, your legs are chubby.”
Me: “Now, is that nice to say?”
Child:”Yes, they are comfortable to sit on.”
We all know someone who has been down.
When you get the call or arrive to see someone who is depressed it can feel overwhelming. You may want to help but you may not exactly know how. You may feel at a loss for words, unsure of what direction to take or feel downright helpless. And as a therapist I have noticed that feeling helpless is one of the emotions that humans dislike most.
