 |
| It looks like a flower but is it? pc unsplash |
Seeing people post on Facebook what they are thankful for during the pandemic recently reminded me of how I feel something unpleasant (maybe cynical?) when I think about being thankful.
How did I end up here? And didn't I already think through this and came up with a new perspective back here?
And then scrolling further I found some posts on "toxic positivity", forcing happiness. Maybe that's what I had actually been doing? I was calling it "being thankful" but another perspective one could call it toxic positivity. During a difficult season I would try to find things to be thankful for- there were plenty I could list. I had food, shelter, friends. The Bible tells us to be thankful, wasn't that what I was supposed to do?
But this week as I've been doing the Velvet Ashes retreat and I'm wondering if what I was missing was focusing on the eternal. So I did have all those good things I listed, but I also had a lot of pain, which I didn't really know how to notice at the time. And there is always going to be pain this side of the new creation, but one day all will be restored. Maybe if that had been the one big thing on my thankful list I would have a better relationship with giving thanks now?
4 comments:
While I too, am in a lot of pain right now as a woman battling cancer, depression and childhood hurts. Am I understanding you correctly? Are you saying people who are grateful and have a positive outlook on life are forcing it? I hope not. Gratefulness is a choice, that is true but if we have a positive attitude that comes from God and is not necessarily forced. I was thinking of not sharing my perspective with anyone and just reading other people’s perspectives but I cried my heart out last night in pain and anguish and I wrote about my pain and God’s comfort at 2:00 am. I would love to share my blog with you. Please check it out. If not, know that God dearly loves you and is in pain with you.
https://willowbentleysmama.wordpress.com/2020/04/24/are-you-hurting/
Terri D
Never heard the term toxic positivity, but it does make sense. In my life, though, it takes on a different hue; those around me think terminal cancer should make me all depressed, and when I'm not, then THEY get all depressed.
Cancer's got me by the neck,
but my heart's still free,
and I will spread, oh, what the heck!
toxic positivity.
I'm not down deep in the dumps,
but those around me think
that I should weep and take my lumps
and when I don't, they blink
and tell me, "Dude, you really can't be real,
and we your friends are not impressde;
how do you think this makes us feel,
besides, well, real depressed?"
The sorrow they want me to share
is not my bag, and I don't care.
Interesting perspective.
Thanks for your comments all!
Post a Comment