Dare to be open!

Last night, I was talking with some girlfriends. (While playing radio bingo actually 👵🏻) We talked about our mental states. How we all felt a little bit of this and that. Whether it's stress from work, health challenges, or worries about our partners. And then there are some who don't feel much of that themselves. But they know someone who does. So no matter how you're feeling, it will affect you in one way or another. If you're struggling with stress, anxiety, or just feeling that life is tough, you're not alone. If you don't feel any of that yourself, you definitely know someone who does. But not everyone talks about it! Not everyone know how to talk about it. Not everyone is even aware of it themselves. But those who are should feel safe to talk about it! There should be enough awareness in society to understand that not everyone handles life the same way. Not everyone thinks the same way.

I stress about strange things, but for me, it's not strange. For me, it's life-threatening and very real! I'm genuinely afraid that there might be a dead person hanging in the garage when I open the gate in the morning. I'm genuinely afraid that an axe murderer will come into the movie theater. I know the probability of these things happening is minimal, bordering on improbable, but I can't shake the thought. Just like someone experiencing work-related stress. Everyone has suggestions on what to do. And they know what it's all about. Just change jobs then! Make the necessary changes to feel better! But is it always possible?! Can everyone do what I did? Just put life on hold and do what you need to do, when you need to do it? NO!! I couldn't do it before either. Some things are beyond our control. Some considerations need to be made. Children need to be taken care of, income needs to be secured, general safety needs to be ensured. Otherwise, it definitely won't make things better! So it's not that simple. Maybe you have to wait a little.

We didn’t stop planning and that gave me all of these memories to look back on 🤩🤩🤩

But don't give up!! Start planning. Figure out what needs to be done. What needs to change. And start from there! Can you manage without somethings? Can your finances be adjusted a bit? Is it 3 years until the kids are old enough, work towards that. I really wanted to drop everything and run away from life many times. We talked about a lot of dreams before we did this. So we waited too. For Sebastian to grow up, for my mental state to be strong enough, for Morten's health to be good enough. What made the most difference for us was sharing! We talked about it. We shared our challenges and received support, help, and opportunities. Plus, I got all my thoughts out of my head, onto paper, and could look at them from angles I had never considered before. (So insanely happy I started this blog!!) It means a lot to me to share my thoughts. Not because they give you anything, that's a fantastic bonus, but because it gives me the opportunity to look at them again. Plus, it gives me a chance to receive understanding from others in a different way. No one can understand what's happening inside me if I don't share it. How could they? So it's really awesome! Sharing things. Absolutely recommendable.

Magnus took the recommendation! He has received a fantastic response and has gained a lot from the process of examining experiences and thoughts through writing. So one thing I really recommend to everyone is to be open! Share what you're feeling. If it's success, share it! If it's failure, share it! If it's worry, share it! Everything you share will either be half as heavy or twice as fun!

Here I’m sharing a great memory with my good friends on our girls trip.

Therefore, I'm thinking of giving you, the readers, a challenge! Write an email with an experience you'd like to share with the rest of us, to miriam@kokomiriam.no, and if you're comfortable with it, I'll share it as a post here. Or you can write a comment here on the blog where you share something you've experienced. There's no reason why we shouldn't be able to share these experiences we have, both good and bad. Sharing and talking about it is one of the most important things we can do. Sharing painful thoughts when you're at the bottom of your hole and don't know if you'll see daylight again can make a huge difference. It can show you that you're not alone in being at the bottom. It can mean that you can get help from your friends to get back up again. It can even give you comfort when you think you're completely alone. Because very often it's a feeling and not how things really are. If someone tells me they're having a tough time, I want to listen and help. I think a lot of people feel that way 🫶🏼

So share! Talk about it! Listen to others! Together we can change a lot, just by talking to each other. At least I hope so! 🧡