Break The Pattern

Back in August I started a series of articles about getting through darkness whether it be caused by stress, anxiety, chronic pain, illness, grief or depression. 

Looking back on my life-long struggle with darkness, I could see a pattern - by taking tiny steps toward positivity and I could slowly drag myself out of the depths of the darkness and the heavy suction pull of its vacuum. 

This series that I started back in August (2024) share these tiny steps that lead toward positivity. Feel free to scroll back, August - present day, to find more articles like this.

Break The Pattern

Sadly when we are going through stress, anxiety, chronic pain, anger or insomnia, depression or grief... when we are going through that we tend to do so alone. We hide how we are feeling from others. We don't want to impose. We don't want to weight them down. 

...We don't want them to hold us accountable either. We fear judgement, we can't trust our bodies, and we fear estrangement.

Being in darkness is exhausting and we are just too darn tired to make the effort of small talk. We become impatient.

The people around us, our immediate community, may not want us to get better either. If you crawl out of hell then they feel bad about where they are. Misery likes company, they say. And if you break out of darkness or let go of bad habits - that can mean letting go of some connections - which is painful too. 

So in our exhaustion we remain uncomfortably comfortable in the cycle that keeps us where we are... with that aching longing for something better and the strain from fading hope. 

One of the easiest ways to break the pattern is to get involved in some kind of volunteer activity where you feel like you're making a difference. Choose something within your abilities, something that could bring a moment of excitement, or a little spark of happiness. 

If you are sensitive to grief, then reading to the elderly or volunteering with a hospice association is maybe not the best thing to do. Bonding with people at the end of their lives means you have to be willing to love gently and let go. Similarly, fostering elderly companion animals or working in animal rescue organizations may lead to moments of heartache with each one that passes on. 

It is perfectly fine to avoid positions that require emotional strength. 

If you have some physical strength consider an organization with projects like maintaining trails, rehabilitating a stream or cleaning litter from roadsides. 

If you like plants, get involved with organizations that focus on seed saving. Perhaps a program like the Food Share project where people voluntarily pick unwanted fruits or nuts, or garden excess. Harvests are then shared with the volunteers, and the rest goes to soup kitchens, family organizations and the food bank, among other places. Maybe you have a green thumb and are able to take cuttings from your houseplants - once mature those new plants can be donated to local fundraising events like plant sales or silent auctions. 

If you are house-bound perhaps you can use socials to promote local charities, non profits, school and other community events. Join up with as many local groups on Facebook etc and use those groups to help spread the word. 

If you like writing, perhaps sending notes of appreciation to all the charities and non-profits that you can find - expressing gratitude for their work. You might be able to help them with their newsletter or phone calls to members. 

Start Where You Are

If you run a blog, why couldn't you write short posts about positive activities and events whenever you hear of them? You could highlight volunteers and write about their volunteer experiences. You could write posts about local businesses stepping up to make the community better, or do some interviews with people doing awesome things.

Start a neighbourhood watch by sharing contact information with your neighbours. If they see something going on, or are going away for a while, people can watch out for one another and in doing so become connected with each other. Maybe expand on that and do a bi-monthly or quarterly returnable bottle/can drive for a specific charity. Let the neighbourhood know that you will be hosting this drive every 3 months so they can expect to hear from you periodically to see if they would like to participate. 

Like to walk? Go for strolls around the neighbourhood slowly expanding those walks to other areas, while scanning for litter and cleaning up the planet. Volunteer as a dog-walker at pet shelters.

It really is easy to make a difference and in doing so we begin to feel more confident, more connected to our neighbourhood. But we also learn new skills, develop new friendships and are exposed to good people doing great things. 

~~~   

Follow us & find our Books: 

on Amazon

Visit: 

Drum It With Brummet Blog

Subscribe: 

Brummet Media​ YouTube Channel​ ​

~~~