What makes good mental health. I think it is interconnected with yourself as an individual, your relationships and your community. All of that gives meaning and value to our lives.
“The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.”
New on the Blog
Someone I love asked me to write about gaslighting, so I will. Gaslighting, I think, is a defensive or offensive action depending on the intended outcome of the person who is doing the gaslighting. The perpetrator or the person who is gaslighting as an offensive action can be doing it as a form of control over another human being. The person who uses gaslighting as a defensive action is usually trying to hide some aspect of themselves or their behaviour from their partner or themselves. But again both rationales for gaslighting are to control the reality of another person.
Forgiveness does not mean that you ever say that abuse, violence or unlawful actions are acceptable. Nor do you have to have a relationship with the other person who has harmed you. Forgiveness also does not mean that you wipe your mind clear of the actions or words that harmed you. As individuals, we need to have some sense of control over our actions and decisions and forgiveness is an especially important part of our sense of control.
Two blogs ago, I wrote about Gaslighting at the request of a reader. This week I got an email with a request from a different reader. This is the email in its entirety:
“I wrote down a paraphrased quote you could write a whole article about.
Treat other people like they are a gift in your life and be fascinated with them.
I have been trying to do this for the past while, it creates an open mind for me that’s for sure.”