Enjoy the Details
In April, I saw the graffiti pictured while walking around Maastricht, in the Netherlands. I took a photo of it because it piqued my interest, and I knew I would want to write about it at some point.
I’m not usually a big fan of graffiti or bumper sticker sayings because they tend to be pithy and lack substance. Also, I have found that many people who make a show of such sayings do not live by them. I mean, if you have “Coexist” on your bumper at the same time you refer to people with a different ideology than you as being sub-human, then how serious can I take you?
That said, I liked this one because it reminds me of something that I think all of us, especially survivors, tend to forget.
The details.
Healing is a long journey. It’s easy to see what you think is the result of healing, whatever that looks like for you, and measure yourself by the fact that you aren’t there yet. I’d disagree with that. Not that you shouldn’t have an eye on the prize, so to speak, but you need to see the details, and you need to enjoy the details.
If healing is a long journey, then there are many details. You don’t take a long drive by looking up the destination on a map, setting out, and getting there. No, you have to figure out the route from here to there, where to turn, where to stop, when to take a break, and so on. Each is part of your journey and another step toward the goal. If you don’t enjoy the steps, if you don’t count the small victories, the journey can drag on and on, becoming overwhelming.
How much better would you feel if you could look at the details and enjoy your progress?
How much better would your life be if you could stop every once in a while and look at the details instead of always being focused on the abuse? See the flowers, laugh with your loved ones, watch the sunset, play a game, or sit and be with yourself. There are a lot of really great details all around us every day. Please don’t get so bogged down in your past and healing that you miss them.
It’s OK to enjoy something for no reason other than wanting it.
It took me a long time to learn and accept that, so I missed out on many details. Don’t make the same mistake.
Kathleen Esslemont liked this on Facebook.