Being Real...

We’re two weeks into 2021 and at some level it feels bleaker than 2020. More doom, more gloom albeit there is a carrot dangling in front of us in the shape of the (Covid) Vaccine.

Between now and then, there is the continuing lockdown and safety precautions that restrict or prevent us from doing many of the things we are still waiting to be able to do once more, increased rates of those contracting the virus and those dying from it and also an increase in mutations globally of the virus itself.

On top of that, it’s January which brings with it colder, wetter and darker days and of course other winter bugs.

Someone once said to me, ‘the best thing about January is that it’s not February’, this was implied more from a business perspective where at least (in the past) January sales sustained companies during the first month of the year and then there was a lag until springtime.

Counselling is about confronting the issues weighing down on us rather than avoiding or evading them. Counselling is about working through it and not about sugar coating or making things out to be better than they are. This is what makes counselling and the counselling relationship so effective and powerful, it’s where we can be honest, truthful, scared and offload what we’ve been holding back or down. It does also enable a different perspective and the opportunity to be heard.

Today’s writing is not about finding solutions, giving tips to make it all better or offering advice. Today is an honest reflection that right now the situation is grim, it’s tough and it’s very challenging. Sometimes we have to be in it and remain in it for a certain amount of time before coming out of it.

Reading over my sentences above, I am struck that today’s writing was originally going to be about ‘happy endings’ and how movies, books or certain stories I’ve recently seen feel that their endings have to be neatly tied up with a ‘happily ever after ribbon’ and to my mind this isn’t real life for many. I will likely reflect on that at some point in a future post and can see how instead of pursuing this today I have projected those thoughts into today’s post about being authentic, accepting reality and the importance of being genuine.

Stay real, stay well…