World Mental Health Day!!!

Yes, it's World Mental Health Day!
The culmination of Mental Health Awareness Week



It really really made me realize that my mind and soul need just as much care as our bodies
I take it to the doctor every week
I take the medicine I need
but it also needs to sleep...well that's obvious
and it needs a cleaning...it needed one this week

sometimes you get so much gunk up there
and you have to take a big hose to it...
and just power-wash it all out
wow. it feels powerful to even just visualize it
Can you imagine all of that gunky stuff
the stuff that's been distorted and wadded up and never had anywhere to go
and then the bits and pieces of thoughts that are broken up and floating and taking up space.
there are yucky thoughts...I have them...ugly or mean ones and I'd love to get rid of them
and then there are these thoughts running up there that take the good stuff and tie it up and twist it around
there are dirty thoughts, but I think I'll keep some of those
there are always thoughts stuck up there that belong to someone else...I would love to see those go
but....the worst ones of all are the big red thoughts that swim around and devour all the good ones up
they just swallow and chew and make vomit out of the positive thoughts

Yes....I would love to celebrate my World Mental Health Day
with the strongest power-washer I can get at Home Depot
and blasting the gunk out of my mind

The thing is....
if I did that....
I'd inevitably blast out the good stuff too.
So, once again...a seemingly fantastic sounding plan
foiled by its exaggerated imbalance (one of the many mental faults)

Balance...as always...is the key to mental health
Maybe the powerwasher is the quick, powerful, intense, Teresa-style plan

Maybe the best way...the balanced way
is to chip away the gunk
grab a sponge and scrub for a while
spray away...wash out the big red gobblers
and then slip in a filter and make sure that none of the other stuff gets in this week

Oh...God...that sounds so cheesy...sooooo cheeeessyyy!
and it sounds like what I do every time I walk into session
and it sounds really boring
and it really really doesn't sound like me

I am the powerwasher type
when I want mental health and clean up there
Teresa Prendes steals the powerwasher adds some Ajax
and blasts the heck out of that mind
and it works
it sounds crazy....
but that's me...and that's what works

And in the end..that's my message for Mental Health Day
The acceptance of self....regardless of how that self is
how different it sounds from everyone
how painful it may get at times
and it IS painful sometimes...and different
but accepting the pain with the good...
I believe it's called "Radical Acceptance of the Self"
a smart person told me about that.

So....on World Mental Health Day
go ahead and work out that mind gunk
it's important that you do
BUT...do it your own way
and accept what's up there too
there may be some things up there that we may not like
that we may see as gunk...and we want you to clean out of you
but if you want to keep it...if it's you...
accept it....radically accept it.


Love and peace to all of you!