12/30/2025
Bit of a black dog day today.
I did vow that when I felt like this, I would say something so here I am, not OK but ever mindful of my motto "we can talk about it yeah?".
Nothing to panic about, nothing that I have not learnt to manage but I thought I would use today to think about stuff that bothers me and stuff that I have learnt from.
Straight in at the deep end.
Not one of my family members told me they were proud of me until I was nearly 50.
How f up is that!
I was, a tricky kid to manage when I was growing up, disruptive, a bit "special" and very lonely, a bad child... but there were reasons for the above, of course there were. Constant bullying for one, a thoroughly miserable time in school and a feeling that I was not good enough.
A tough situation huh!
All this at age 8.
Not looking for sympathy here, just highlighting the importance of being supportive.
Tell people that you love them whenever the chance arises.
Tell people how proud or impressed you are with them.
If folk seem a bit down, if they are not being themselves, dig into it. Ask questions.
I am aware that asking questions is potentially tricky, when you get a reply that you feel is beyond your capacity to deal with, what then? Pass it on is my shout. Pretend for a moment that we actually have a working community and delegate.
Like I say. I had a difficult childhood and to this day, I am still working through that. I have had to teach myself how to be a caring human, a decent chap. No one showed me the way so... Be kind. Be kind but honest also. If someone is being a dick, pull them up on it but do so not with bile but with care. Being kind is hard. It takes effort and skill. It takes patience and requires understanding. Not all of us have such things mastered but we can learn.
We can talk about it, yeah? x
