I think I like this little life

What would it take for me to like my life? Do I like my life? I’ve never asked that question. I invite you to ask yourself that question today.

I think my answer would be different depending on many factors. In summer, it’s easier to like life for me. Working in a school means I get 6 weeks off from work and that’s a huge privilege I don’t take lightly. I always try to use the time to be productive but to also not waste the season. Ensuring I spend time outside as much as possible.

After a nice day with good people, I like my life too. Or when I’ve had a great day of writing and the sun filters in through the window and my dog is beside me. That’s a nice life.

I think I’m a relatively simple person. I don’t need a lot of things to be happy. Sunshine, a cosy space, creative ideas, nice people, nice food, and good entertainment. As long as I can do yoga, read, write, walk my dog, have nice conversations, plan a holiday every now and then, and be cuddled when I need it – life is good.

If this is true, why do I have so many bouts of depression? Is it possible to like your life but also fall into deep pits of despair? I guess it’s a question of whether satisfaction and contentment with your life, your choices and your general day to day differs from mental health and emotions.

Because emotions, feelings and thoughts are all fleeting, right? You change how you feel all the time, even if an emotion or thought is reoccurring. And mental illness means you’re not always in control of how you feel and think. Your mind beats you up and drags you down and suddenly you can’t see that you like your life, even if you truly do deep down.

I think there’s a lot of things that come along to cloud our true perception of ourselves and our lives. Things that make us think we’re dissatisfied when really, when everything was stripped away, we would say we like our lives.

Comparison to others

A failed venture

An argument with someone

Winter

Sickness or toxic stress (toxic stress is sickness, to me)

Big life changes

Being too focused on the future

There are many things I could list that tear us away from reality. Things that make our lives look quite bleak. Even if life is boring sometimes or stressful sometimes, we can still like it. For example, I’ll always like (love) pizza but I don’t want it every day! So I can like my life, even if I don’t enjoy every part of it every day?

If you truly, truly don’t like your life, perhaps ask yourself why. What would it take to like your life a little more? And don’t say to never work a day of your life again, because for a lot of us, that’s sadly not possible! It would definitely take years of hard work to make that possible anyway. So think about it realistically. What could you do or change to make you like your life, even a tiny bit more?

Do I like my life? Yes! Luckily, right now, for the most part, I do.

“I think I like this little life”🎵

Sincerely,

S. xx