Mental Post-Its

Thoughts, Notes, and General Mental Mayhem

Category Archives: Live


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The Mental Illness Role in Tragedy

For sure, we are all still in shock and greiving from the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting. I watch a lot of cop and law shows, and there is plenty of death, but I always simply think of it as fiction. When something truly tragic happens in the world like last Friday, I find myself completely stunned. It’s honestly hard for me to believe that people exist who can commit such haneous crimes. I’m just not sure how to absorb it. However, the last few times, I keep coming back to some of the same conclusions.

Yes, I agree with those who pipe up for tougher gun laws. Yes, I absolutely believe that these people needed Jesus in their lives. But where I feel we truly fall short is the mental health issue. Weapons of some sort will always be available to those searching for them. But it is vital to reach these people in their hearts and in their minds before they decide to reach for a gun.

I’ve heard the mental health issue brought up in conjunction with several of these massacres, but it’s more in the fact of the gunman struggled with a mental health issue. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard anyone talk specifically about diagnosis or treatment of mental health issues, and I feel that’s a shame. It seems that still today, this issue is still too taboo. Its time we wake up. The statistics are against us. They are too large to ignore. As long as these people are suffering with no one to help them, the pain will rise to the surface somehow, someway.

We need to be able to understand and become more compassionate to these people who are hurting so desperately. We need to know how to recognize the signs, and get them the help they need. It begins with those closest to them—friends and family. While yes, some of these behaviors come out of left fiield, I believe there are some which probably do not. We’ve all been in situations before where we could look back and see red flags. These behaviors could very well be the manifestation of thoughts and feelings that have been boiling underneath for years. True, some may also not want help. And in those cases, it may be more prudent to warn an authority figure as a precaution. And several of these gunman have been bullied. I wonder if people were there to help them recover or stand up for them. I wonder if anyone could’ve at least reported them to the police before it was too late. I wonder why getting them help is too shameful or too intrusive. I wonder how much we really care.

I have an awesome group of friends. I’m beyond thankful for them on a daily basis. There are many reasons why, but one of those is that many of us have been through counseling, pyschologists and psychiatrists, and we are not ashamed to talk to each other about it. We somehow found the strength to ask for help when we needed it most. And we are all better for it. It is not taboo for us. It is part of who we are. In fact, several of my friends have even gone on to get degrees in counseling in order to help others. I have no doubt that if one of us tried to go off the deep end in some way, the rest of us would interceed. Thats what friendship and love does.

I hope that more people will begin to see the need and benefits to exploring mental health. On my local news last Friday, the anchor woman said there had been 125 mass shootings since Columbine. I couldn’t believe that number. It was so much higher than I expected. I remember, probably like many of you, exactly when and where I was when I heard about Columbine. It will forever be burned in my memory. I remember praying for nothing like that to ever happen again. I’m so very sad at how far we’ve come.

So, yes, let’s create tougher gun laws. If we are Christians, let’s tell those who are hurting about our Saviour Jesus. But let’s also learn to recognize and deal with mental illness as a society. If we don’t, we will only be treating major wounds with band-aids.


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Happy Holidays!

Here’s just a simple little holiday greeting from me to you. It recaps some of my year’s highlights. Thanks for coming along for the ride. Enjoy!

And here’s to hoping 2013 is even better!

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2012 Reading List

booksI’m sure I’ve mentioned more than once that I do not enjoy to read. However, I feel like it’s important and I do like to keep learning, so here we are. If only they’d make more movies about books! 😉

Here are the books I read and listened to over this past year. I mostly listen now since I have a long commute, and can get through books easier (faster) that way. It’s hard for me to sit and read at home; there are just too many good movies and TV shows, which I’d always prefer. But here you have it—my list for 2012. I was hoping it’d be a little longer, but I was home sick a lot this year and therefore didn’t listen to all the books I wanted to. So I’ll have some catching up to do next year.

Let me know if you have any questions about any of these books! I’m happy to tell you more about them.

And what should I put on my list for 2013?

 

(Note: Amazon links are affiliate links.)


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Purchase With Purpose

You may be surprised to learn that I’ve done more this year than be sick, but it’s true. 😉

Over the past few months, a few Not For Sale Georgia friends and I have been working on an ethical buying guide called Purchase With Purpose. It’s definitely been a labor of love—a three-month labor that felt like the full nine! It started earlier this year when I learned more about the problem with child labor in the chocolate industry. I then wanted to make sure I was purchasing chocolate that was free of slave labor. From there, I wanted to expand into other areas of my life. I felt convicted to make sure that as many of my buying choices as possible reflect my values and concern for modern-day slavery. This trek wasn’t new to me as I had previously worked in the environmental sector, and had already made “green” a priority. Luckily for me, these worlds overlap in many ways.

But then I began to think about my friends and family. I wanted to help them make better choices. Even though this cause wasn’t theirs, I know many people who would do good by making safe buying choices; they just needed to be educated to do so. Think about it for a moment. If there were two pair of jeans, about the same price, style and quality, but one had a safe supply chain one was questionable, which would you buy? Many people I know would by the ones from a company who was doing good things. It’s the reason we all own TOMS shoes. You buy them not just because their cute, but a child in need receives a pair of shoes. Easy decision. I own four pairs!

I then approached my Not For Sale state directors about the idea. What if we created a buying guide that gave people a list of companies with safe supply chains? (A safe supply chain simply means that the items you buy were made without slave labor. From the raw materials to the finished product, all workers were treated fairly, paid a livable wage, and not forced or coerced to perform their job. Sadly, with over 30 million slaves around the world living today, you may find yourself surprised to know the reality of how your chocolate, clothes, soap, lamps, toys, electronics and anything in-between came to be.) And to build on that idea, what if we focused our fall quarterly meeting around the idea of buying ethically for the holidays?

They were both on board, and the project was given the green light. I’d seen some other buying guides, so this wasn’t a revolutionary idea. However, I wanted to help create one that 1) didn’t focus a lot on niche brands which most people didn’t know and didn’t have much access to, and 2) included local businesses. I wanted to make it approachable for the everyday consumer. And I wanted to reward and recognize local businesses who were going good.

A few others jumped in to help, and we began in late August. It’s been a wild and crazy couple of months. We unofficially debuted the guide at Not For Sale’s annual conference, the Global Forum, a few weeks ago. This was particularly exciting because the NFS main office became interested in what we were doing, and also very supportive. In fact, Emily, my partner on the project, and I were asked to speak at the event on our guide and how consumers can become more engaged in the issue. Our little audience responded well to what we had to say, and many gave us their email addresses to receive a final copy of the guide! That was definitely a highlight for me, as it was exciting to share all this research we’d been doing. And I wanted people to understand that, in reality, this wasn’t that hard. Since then, we’ve been invited into Not For Sale’s conversations on supply chains.  They have an excellent resource called Free2Work that I recommend if you want to learn more about forced labor and safe supply chains. They are able to do much more extensive research than us, and always adding to their list of reviewed companies. Additionally, F2W just released a report this week on ratings in the apparel industry. It’s good stuff. We are really thrilled to be a part of this conversation with them.

However, tonight was our big night! This is the night we’ve been counting down to. We officially debuted the Purchase With Purpose guide tonight at our NFS GA quarterly meeting! It seemed to be a big hit, and if it helps people buy better, then it’s done it’s job. All I wanted in the beginning was a tool to help the people I know buy better. I wanted my dollars to make sense. And I am proud to say I’ve done that.

Along with the guide announcement, Emily conducted a panel featuring speakers from several ethical companies: Foojee, Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee Co., Noonday Collection, Socialvest, Ten Thousand Villages and The Learning Tea. These folks were great! They educated and inspired the audience, and I truly believe they helped change some buying habits tonight. It was fantastic company to be in.

I’ve gotta say, I am still kind of amazed at how much this project has grown. I was hoping for the guide to 100 companies—we ended up with 250+ local, regional, national and international brands. And we still have plans to expand it. There are talks about making it an e-book or a website. Someone at the Global Forum even asked us if we were going to start writing or petitioning legislation on the matter! At this point, though, who knows. I just want it to be a resource for people like me, people who want to do good in the world. I think there are a lot of us out there. In fact, I think it’s the future of business. If you look closely, you are seeing it all around. As I saw with the eco-friendly movement, I believe supply chains are the next big issue in retail. More and more people care about what corporations do with their dollars. They want to support companies who have heart. They want to be a part of something that matters. And if they can do that by buying better toothpaste, then why not?

Start small. Start somewhere. Start today. Purchase with purpose.

 

To grab your own FREE copy of the guide, visit http://bit.ly/purchasewithpurpose. You can view and download it from there.

And if you’d like to connect with Not For Sale Georgia, text “NFSGA” to 50500.


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Political (Insane) Asylum

At least once every four years, I wish I could seek asylum somewhere else. I wish I could skip campaign season and vote from afar.

I really can’t stand politics. So much fighting, slander and backbiting–from all sides. Tell me what you believe, not how bad the other guy is! I’ve seen some really nice people (both Christian and non) say some pretty horrible things when it’s under the guise of a political opinion, as if that makes it ok. Many people simply change when they start talking politics and, frankly, it scares me. So I tend to stay away. I have only a few people that I’ll discuss politics with because they can be calm and objective. Those last two adjectives are key, and rare. Half of those conversations are just me pumping my friend, Raechel, for information because she’s in law school and a walking political dictionary.

My friend, Daron, has always said of me that I don’t “play the game” and what he means by that is politics. I’ve never liked politics when it comes to relationships or the workplace or church. I frankly don’t see the point. So I simply don’t participate. I try to be me wherever I am, go figure. That’s hard enough, so anything else just seems like too much work.

Don’t read the above and hear me say not to vote, or participate in the process or do research. I think you should do all of those things. I think they are important because they move society forward. I’m simply saying I don’t like it. But in reality, I don’t have to. It’s not my system, just one I’m a part of. And I am extremely thankful for those who fought for the right for me to do so, therefore I don’t want to take it for granted. I’m not taking it for granted, but I’m not hugging it either. Kinda like when you say you don’t like someone but you love them because Jesus does. 😉

As with many aspects of my life, I just don’t feel I fit into politics. I don’t consider myself a Republican or a Democrat (or an Independent, though I am quite independent). I don’t think that if you’re conservative, you must be a Republican. I don’t think if you’re an environmentalist, you must be a Democrat. I personally feel we are all a little too complicated to fit into on column on a ballot. I try to find who most lines up with my beliefs, thoughts and opinions, and I go from there. (Side bar: if you are unsure who to vote for but want to take those ideas into account, check out www.ISideWith.com. I totally wish they had local and state on here, too.)

With the election season coming up, I ask you to remember only two things before and after November 6.

1. If you are a Christian, please choose what kind of Christian you will be. Will you be the kind of Christian who only checks the box, and then says and does whatever they want regardless? Or will you be the kind of Christian Christ asks us to be? I think all the Christians I know would say the latter. If that’s the case, please remember you are called to pray for your elected officials and obey them. Sure, you can be disappointed that your guy/gal lost if that’s the case, but that doesn’t give you free license to bash and forward hateful emails about the winner. Unity is not uniformity. You can disagree with the person, but you are still called to pray for them and obey them. Make the best of the situation and quit giving the rest of us who are trying a bad name. If more people prayed for their leaders, who knows what would happen? Your leader may just surprise you. And if not, hey, you get the chance to vote him/her out later. But the point is, be the Christian described in the Bible. The other person is not the devil incarnate (most likely).

2. Christian or not, I’ll share with you a little story from Rob Lowe’s autobiography. Fascinating, by the way. There are a lot of jaw-dropping stories in his book, but one of the things I loved most was when Rob described his visits to the White House. The cast of The West Wing was invited several times to visit the White House over it’s AMAZING seven seasons. He says that he visited under two different administrations, a Republican and a Democratic. And he said that he was struck by the fact that, when it all came down to it, these were guys who were fathers and just doing what they thought was right. It didn’t mean he liked everything they did. But he truly believed that these men were handling a very hard job the best they could, and were simply acting according to what they thought was the right thing to do. I loved that. So simple, yet so profound. We have terms like armchair quarterback (yes, I do know a few sports terms) and backseat driver, but I probably hear more commentary about what people think they’d do as President than anything else. Ignorance, in my opinion. I mean, come on, this is the most powerful person IN THE WORLD. You know what most of us would do in that position? We’d be in the fetal under the desk in the Oval Office praying for our four years to pass. It’s hard work. That’s why hardly anyone runs. When push comes to shove, 99.9% of us don’t want that job–nor should we have it. So, let’s cut these people some slack. You don’t have to agree. You’re entitled to your opinion. I’m not taking that from you. But let’s be careful how we act on that opposition. These are just people who made it to a big-time public decision-making level who, in their heart, are just trying to do the right thing.

If your guy/gal loses, the world will not end on November 6. And if your guy/gal wins, it’s not a time to gloat. Remember, we still have like a whole month after that according to the Myans, so let’s make it good. In all seriousness, though, be a good citizen. We all live here.

Do you research. Participate in the process. Vote.

Just remember to give some grace. Plenty has been given to you.