Perspectives
SCG Staff Articles
Spending Time Alone and with Others
Time alone for reflection, meditation, thinking, or sitting silently is very useful to our well-being. But isolation for long periods of time can be both painful and harmful. That is a present concern that doctors and counselors are now discovering in their patients. Many Americans are part of the current epidemic of isolation; painful aloneness leading to loneliness.
Linked to Everything
Elementally, physically, psychologically and spiritually we are very much like the rest of the world. We even share large segments of DNA patterns with animals. We cannot exist without bacteria. Viruses help to control killer bacteria. All this renders those “us vs. them” arguments meaningless. It’s all US! God has linked us to everything and everyone, even to Godself.
Blessed are we who have ears to hear and eyes to see.
A New Year?
A year is a year, no matter where it starts. In fact, every day presents us with newness, indeed every minute. Ultimately this means we have a constant flow of opportunities to use as we choose. All we need to do is to be aware of opportunities and choose to take advantage of them....When the burden is heavy, the pain intense, the work difficult, it becomes easy to think about giving up. But as the 60’s song went, “tomorrow’s gonna be another day.” Choosing action can be difficult and may require courage. But action can turn new moments and opportunities into good things, perhaps great things.
The Path Awaits You
One of the real treats I was offered as a child was a “discovery ride”. My father would take me on a jaunt that did not include a preconceived destination. The goal was to travel roads we had not been on to see sights we had never before witnessed. We might travel on major highways, backroads, or even gravel and dirt roads. And the trip might last a couple of hours, an afternoon, or all day. Every trip was unique as were the sights we discovered. It was tremendous fun. I never lost my love and fascination for this kind of road trip and which I still hold today. On my most recent trek, I discovered the Red House Presbyterian Church established in 1756. The cemetery behind the church contained graves of very early settlers who lived when our state was still a colony.
World Mental Health Awareness Day
Read what the SCG staff therapists have to say about mental health as we observe World Mental Health Awareness Day.
Panning Out After the Pandemic
The idea of panning out comes from the old gold rush days of finding gold by using pans in streams to separate the gold from dirt and sand. Though the pandemic is not yet over, reclaiming our “gold of life,” is something we can actually begin planning at this point.
Surviving Covid-19
Like the simple protective steps to physical health, steps in protecting our mental health are not rocket science but ordinary. Below are some suggestions you might try if you are emotionally struggling like so many others at this difficult time.
Maintaining and Bulding Resilience
These are difficult times by anyone’s standards. The uncertainty of the future, the fear of disease, sickness, and death, the growing financial anxiety, etc., etc., etc. Our old ideas of normal have been uprooted. A new normal has demanded space in our lives that is unfamiliar and that threatens our useful routines and traditions. How do we remain strong in such a time?