Purpose in My Mental Health World

I thought becoming successful was the reason I did professional theatre full time; to earn a living at something I enjoyed and that I was hopefully good at. When I became ill while doing theatre, that purpose changed to being a person who, with a condition, could still succeed at something they loved. I was learning to dance in the rain while waiting for the storm to pass. Living with an illness is hard to deal with and you have to learn how to cope and live regardless as best you can. Sometimes, you forget that you have a challenge as if you conquered it.

When I became a teacher and mother, my purpose became to prove to myself that I could correct and love my present life even with a disability. Now with COVID-19, I’m being the best wife and mother I can possibly be.

My karma with teaching may have been fulfilled even though I’m still a teacher. My writing, producing and organizing cancer benefits, a mental health benefit, my blackbelt in TaeKwonDo, continued teaching and piano-playing may all just be a way of passing the time constructively while here on Earth, honoring myself while helping and loving others. I’ve saved a few lives because I was in the right place at the right time, preventing three people from drowning and one person from strangling herself.

My family and I have built our nest together and now we live in it the best way we can with me on meds and having a support system. Hopefully, it’s good enough.

There is a lot to learn from our mental health issues. They are just one form of expression with which to choose to have all your experiences: love, joy, grief, laughter. It is your choice to be a part of and represent the 26% of Americans with a mental health-related Issue. Because we all experience life, every emotion as part of the human condition, people with and without diagnoses can all relate to one another. The human condition applies to everyone. The key is to recognize that the form your experiences take may differ from someone else’s, but essentially your core is the same. We all just have our own variation of the same story.

Maybe your purpose in life changes and grows with you as all the pieces fit together through the years. I’m still searching and yet feel I’ve achieved a lot. I give to charity and support people in need as I come across them. I try to be as good of a person as I can be while keeping good deeds on my mind. There’s always someone to love or be kind to and we can always pray. I hope you consider what mental health has done for you in terms of helping and working through challenges; a chance to change, learn and grow while evolving and advancing human kind.