Tomorrow's a New Day!
I remember when the saying ‘Tomorrow’s A New Day’ used to have me rolling my eyes in exasperation wondering how the hell a new day was going to fix a damn thing. Today I embrace the fact that tomorrow actually yields countless possibilities and I’m finally able to look forward to the future once more.
When life gets you down as it often does, it’s sometimes really difficult to see any hope for the future. Whether you are homeless, riddled in debt, feeling trapped in an abusive relationship or something else entirely, you’ll find that depression, on some level will inevitably kick in and when it does, everyone around you will have an abundance of knowledge and advice for you.
Just to be clear – most of the advice you’ll receive is utter crap. People tend to look at the textbook way of overcoming depression and think that applying the same formula to every person is somehow going to work. Well it doesn’t. For starters, I consider myself a little out of the norm to most people, yet almost every person I have spoken to with depression, anxiety, bipolar or countless other conditions all seem to feel the same, so who knows – maybe we’re all just a little loopy.
For me, focussing on tomorrow only gave me more reason to panic. Hell, today was crappy enough, the last thing I want to be thinking about is all the shit that can go wrong tomorrow! I also found that people usually used the saying after something went terribly wrong, as though they were practically telling you ‘hey, you fucked up today and there is no way to fix it, so hopefully you can keep your shit together tomorrow’.
No!
Today is NOT over and I don’t care how crappy a day it is – I am going to make this day worth while! I did not drag my butt out of bed to achieve nothing today. I am going to do something that makes me want to smile no matter how hard that is. That doesn’t mean I have to laugh until my choc milk pours from my nostrils, just a private little internal smile that warms me up a little – no one even needs to see it.
Who cares about tomorrow! Focus on the day you have right now – Today! Look for something positive in each and every moment. It may be really difficult to find, but if you look hard enough and pay attention to the moment you are in right now, you’ll see it.
Have you ever noticed how people’s nostrils flare when they yell? It makes them look like dragons that have run out of steam, especially when their eyes bulge out as well.
Remember the good old days of prank calls? When debt collectors or telemarketers ring – don’t miss the opportunity, just keep in mind that they don’t actually know who the hell has answered the phone they’ve rung. If they’re desperate enough, they’ll ring you back – and depending on how you feel, you might actually talk to them – doubtful, but hey, gotta stay positive right?
Make the most of every moment you have. Sometimes going against the conventional expectations of society can be the best thing for the soul (it can also land you in a jail cell if you take things too far, so still think about what you’re doing).
We tend to get so hung up on the idea of what we should be doing, that we often forget about what we wish we were doing. Mainly because we think that what we wish to be doing is preposterous on all levels and really shouldn’t be done, which may be true – but really, we all know conformity is overrated (and boring) so what the hell? Give it a go.
At the age of 21, I was homeless and living on the streets of Brisbane. It was one of the scariest moments in my life and I couldn’t stop thinking about how much I had let my parents down, how much I had failed, because I didn’t have a good job, a high education and a wad of cash in my pocket.
It was suggested that I purchase a tent and start trekking around Australia – on foot! At first I scoffed at the idea, thinking it was beyond insane, but the more I thought about the idea, the more plausible it seemed and eventually I gave in and spent my last $30 on a cheap tent and went bush. That was the beginning of the greatest year of my life – and all because I gave up on the ideals and expectations of society and dared to be different.
Yeah, Tomorrow is a new day – but so was today only a few hours ago – so make the most of now! Stop waiting!
By Kylie Abecca
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