THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL!
The light at the end of the tunnel is an ironic expression. It seems to mean the end of a rough period. Or as those that have returned from a near death explain, it is truly the end.
How do you see it ? Is it a bright light or a dark light?
monos en theos…†…jim
For all of those that knock at this door, may the light be left on for you.
monos en theos…†…jim
I don’t know that I have had the death of anyone close to me effect me any more than that of Robin Williams. I am right now in a small West Texas town on a work assignment. While getting coffee this morning the breakfast bar was a buzz with “smart ass” comments about his suicide. Sadly,red necks trying to be funny rarely are.
I wanted to scream something, but the words would not come, only tears. It made me so glad that I do not live in this part of Texas any longer.
I came back to my room and the blog below was in my email. Had to share. It is said with words that I can’t find right now.
Reblogged form Inspired RD:
I’ve been coming across some incredible posts on depression and suicide since the tragic death of Robin Williams. I wanted to share some of them with you. Please feel free to leave comments with other links you have found helpful this week.
Thoughts on depression, suicide, and being a Christian by Nish Weiseth
But there’s another kind of evil lurking around the halls of the depressed, and it’s the belief that those who are stricken with depression (or any mental illness) are suffering because of their lack of faith in Jesus. “If only you’d pray for more joy,” people say. “If only you’d ask God to take the pain.” Or, “Is there unresolved sin in your life?” Or how about this one, “If you’d just meditate more on God’s Word…”
Folks, saying someone is depressed or suicidal because they aren’t praying enough, are self-absorbed, sinful, or don’t have a deep enough faith? It’s abusive. And it needs to stop. Now.
The depressed Christian: Why the dark night is no measure of your soul by Megan Tietz
In that season, I went back to my roots: reading the Bible, praying, singing songs of praise, trying to keep gratitude lists. No matter what I did, no matter how hard I prayed, no matter how often I cried out, I couldn’t force my mind to course-correct. I was acutely aware of how broken my brain was but felt absolutely powerless to fix it.
And yet in the midst of that dark time, my heart absolutely thrilled with joy. Watching the boys sleep next to each other, tucked into each other because that’s how you sleep when that’s all you know – it made my heart crack wide open with joy. Silly conversations and long hugs from my girls, giggly text messages from my husband … yes, there was light and joy and love and moments of clarity in the midst of those hard, hard days.
Why “YOU ARE NOT ALONE” Is A Lie by Carlos Whittaker
Imagine for a moment…
You are surrounded by every single person in the world who loves you.
There is a celebration of who you are and there is a huge party happening.
Everyone is waiting to talk to YOU and tell you that they love you and you are amazing.
Sounds awesome huh?
Now imagine you are in a space suit.
You can barely hear what anyone is saying and although you are being hugged, you can’t feel anything.
In the midst of not being “alone”…
You are alone.
In which depression is NOT your fault by Sarah Bessey
Since the tragic death of Robin Williams, I have seen some terrible, misinformed, and abusive bullsh*t online about depression and mental illness. This normally wouldn’t be enough to make me type as passionately as I am right now but this stuff is coming from a few vocal and influential Christians. I see it being shared around on social media like candy. And it makes my blood boil and my heart ache.
I hate to think of my beloved people reading that kind of damaging stuff. Heaping condemnation and guilt and fear on the heads of the suffering is akin to tying a millstone around someone’s neck. This is a heinous and evil thing to do.
Robin Williams’ Death: a reminder that suicide and depression are not selfish by Dean Burnett
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again; dismissing the concerns of a genuine depression sufferer on the grounds that you’ve been miserable and got over it is like dismissing the issues faced by someone who’s had to have their arm amputated because you once had a paper cut and it didn’t bother you. Depression is a genuine debilitating condition, and being in “a bit of a funk” isn’t. The fact that mental illness doesn’t receive the same sympathy/acknowledgement as physical illness is often–referenced, and it’s a valid point. If you haven’t had it, you don’t have the right to dismiss those who have/do. You may disagree, and that’s your prerogative, but there are decades’ worth of evidence saying you’re wrong.
Find your light. Rinse and repeat…†…monos en theos…….jim
Sorry for the delay in submissions. We have have been on a wonderful trip in New Mexico and were at a few places with no internet the last few days.
This is our light-painting of the old railroad depot in San Antonio NM. We had a lot of fun doing it, running around in the dark trying to get it done in a 30 sec exposure. Susan light-painted the bush red, while I ran around like a possessed man light-painting the rather large depot in 30 seconds.
As you get older, it really takes very little to provide a little excitement in your life.
Enjoy even the dark moments! en theos monos ††† jim
I have been reading about “light painting”. As one who has always envied those who can paint, I was drawn to anything that I could do to say I was painting. It is kind of interesting to think of using light as your brush. Both my grandmother & grandfather were artists that painted with a traditional brush. I used to love to go into their studio, partake of the feel and smell of oil paint, brush cleaner, canvas and of creation. That gene was not passed on to me and I had to find another way to “paint”.
My dad was a photographer and he also collected old cameras. His collection became mine and I have added to in over the years. I even have my first camera, an old brown Kodak Brownie. I have a photo of me at age five that my dad took of me making photos with that same Brownie.
So it was with pleasure that I placed some of these treasures, put my Nikon on a 30 second exposure in a dark room, and painted away with a small flashlight. I must be getting old (ok, I am), but there is hardly any better way to make yourself feel alive then to create something that wasn’t visible until you recorded it.
Find that which makes your heart feel full. ††† en theos ††† jim
It was a very chilly start yesterday. Sixteen degrees, but the sun chased away the chill and by late afternoon the field was warmed by the sun.
Enjoy being in the light! ††† en theos ††† jim
“I’ve never looked through a keyhole without finding someone was looking back.”
Judy Garland
Baby it is cold outside, find your way home ††† en theos ††† jw
“Who can estimate the elevating and refining influences and moral value of flowers with all their graceful forms, bewitching shades and combinations of colors and exquisitely varied perfumes? These silent influences are unconsciously felt even by those who do not appreciate them consciously and thus with better and still better fruits, nuts, grains, vegetables and flowers, will the earth be transformed, man’s thought refined, and turned from the base destructive forces into nobler production. One which will lift him to high planes of action toward the happy day when the Creator of all this beautiful work is more acknowledged and loved, and where man shall offer his brother man, not bullets and bayonets, but richer grains, better fruit and fairer flowers from the bounty of this earth.”
– Father George Schoener (1864 -1941)
I sometimes work too hard in an attempt to make the light the way I want it to be, rather than looking and waiting for it to just all fall into place. So it is in my photography, so it is in my life.
Find your peace in waiting for the light today! ††† en theoes ††† jimwork
“If we claim that we experience a shared life with Him and continue to stumble around in the dark, we’re obviously lying through our teeth—we’re not living what we claim. But if we walk in the light, God himself being the light, we also experience a shared life with one another, as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God’s Son, purges all our sin.” 1 John 1:7 The Message
Sometimes, in a fifty shades of grey world, it is hard to find the difference between the dark and the light.
Work hard at finding your light today!
PEZFULEZFEELIN’@U ††† en theos ††† jlawrence
May the light slowly fill in your shadows today.
“Little one living among the shadows dark
Waiting seemingly for that one dear true spark
Filled with love concern and grace
What sort of anxieties or despairs must you face
You shine your light as bright as you are able
But are met with brokenness of life unstable
Feelings of loneliness surround you each day Searching for someone, something to show you the way
Back to the joy you once knew days ago
Days that you remember but are missing so
Oh little one may you find your way back
To the heart filled with hope that you once had”
I found this poem but I do not know who wrote it, but it sums up my feelings for this day.
peceout ††† en theos ††† jlawrence
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Freelance Writer • Columnist• Blogger at Unwanting
Photographers living with or affected by mental health challenges; supporting each other one photograph at a time.
The closet exhibitionist comes out into the light...
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