Hope beyond the overwhelm

Life in the overwhelm takes us from the relative comfort we may have had to fear to questioning the meaning of life to questioning our existence.  It is fathoms below, and infinitely harder than, any pain we’d previously conceived.

When we endure loss and we are tipped into grief, overwhelm threatens every moment.  Even when we’re gifted a presence of momentary peace, we know that the overwhelm, the dread, beckons at the door — we wonder when our peace will be vanquished.  That terrifying reality is an ever present threat.

‘FAITH TO OVERCOME’

Some people have faith to overcome and it comes naturally to them.  For others — especially those who are more realistic than idealistic — faith to overcome comes much less naturally.

Let me explain that ‘faith to overcome’ is not inherently about religious faith — where your faith might be in God, for instance.  For me, faith to overcome is much more visceral than religious faith, but it is also the basis of authentic religious faith. 

It’s a faith that trusts that good is coming. 

Faith to overcome is
born of and is underpinned
by a hope that insists good is coming. 

Faith to overcome is
impossible to stifle.
It holds the overwhelm amid the promise
of something good coming from it. 

This faith to overcome somehow helps in the pain of the overwhelm because it hopes for something better on the horizon.  Ultimately this faith to overcome cannot be defeated because the hope underpinning it refuses to be despaired.  Eventually, all good hopes are vindicated.  Good does come eventually.

Sure, there are times when we do despair: 

… times that are, “far beyond our ability to endure,
so that we despaired of life itself.”
— 2 Corinthians 1:8

But even in such places of spirit, there is the intractable presence of hope beyond the overwhelm if only we cling to the fact that good is coming.  And good WILL come. 

While we’re on this sojourn of pain in the overwhelm and dread, we can enrol in the truth that enduring this harsh season will pay handsome dividends when it is over.

Life experience is the school of hard knocks. 
Such wisdom is hard-won. 
Once won is cannot be lost.

If we talk about peace, we can see that once we’ve experienced this travail, the premium for peace is a bounty worth paying the service of our lives for.  And peace becomes our soul’s aim and hence wisdom is our driver. 

This is what life experience teaches us, through the pain of tumult: 

Peace is worth the struggle to attain it.
Peace is a goodness that indwells hope and joy.
Suffering teaches us that peace is THE prize of life.

Hope beyond the overwhelm is something that refuses to let go of the concept that good is coming.  It keeps hope alive, and it certainly can keep us alive. 

The concept of an horizon is crucial on the cruel path of life.  The horizon never arrives but if there is goodness there, it fuels hope and the faith to overcome. 

The insight and motivation in mental health

Like diligence and prudence are opposite and complementary sides of the coin of character, insight and motivation are opposite and complementary sides of mental health.  

A thumbnail sketch of this topic:

Diligence is like motivation – action-oriented.  

Prudence is like insight – inaction-oriented.  

Diligence and prudence form wisdom.  

Insight and motivation form mental health.

~

THE MENTAL HEALTH IN INSIGHT

Insight is that beautiful characteristic where a person can literally see inside themselves.  

They can truthfully see their individual and social truth.  

They are aware and their awareness adds beauty to all their relationships.  

They accept themselves for who they are, not needing to be perfect, on the contrary, never happier to be content with what they have and are.  

They pick up on the nonverbals and astoundingly do not need to be told where they are going wrong.  

They are also not overly afraid of receiving feedback.  

Their self-awareness is a great tool
that protects them and provides for them.

One of the worst blows of mental ill health is a loss or lack of insight.  

Those who cannot see what they need to see to protect themselves and others are in harm’s way.  

Those who struggle to know how to provide for themselves and others also lack insight.  

We’ve all had times when we’ve been vulnerable to these things.

What do we do to nurture insight?  We live in the knowledge of truth as much as possible.  That takes courage and humility.  The key question always remains: how open am I to the truths pertaining to my person and relationships — to my inner and outer world?

THE MENTAL HEALTH IN MOTIVATION

Society mistakenly thinks that depression is about sadness.  

Depression is about sadness, but it is so much more.  

Principally it’s about motivation – depression sucks not only the motivation and drive from a person, but it also sucks their hope, peace, and joy dry.  It saps us to the point where we’re rendered powerless to control ourselves.

But mental ill health is more than depression.  

A person who is demotivated is not at their peak mental health.  There is a disconnect with their purpose and an inability to live life full and abundantly.  

If mental ill health is a lack of life direction and purpose, it reaches its pit in suicidal ideation – the lack of will to live and the goal to die.  What sets a person back on their course is them connecting with their innate purpose – their reason and meaning for being here.  There is always a “why”.

The pinnacle of human existence is wanting to live and desiring to make the most of every day — accepting that not every day is imminently liveable.  

The best indicator that we have room to grow mentally is that we are NOT experiencing this.  

It is a very good thing when we commit to wanting to make more of every day we have alive – that’s a seeking for good mental health. 

If this article brings something up for you, listen to your inner voice and go on a quest to seek for better.