During a tough period of time when I was seeing a therapist to help me along, it bothered me that he had a shelf of photographs behind him sporting his happy family. While I didn't begrudge him this, I found them painful to stare at while struggling through my divorce.
Three months after I stopped seeing him, this therapist called pleading with me to write a character letter to his judge for leniency. He had been defrauding Medicare and was in deep legal trouble. Facing jail-time trouble. His wife had left him, taking his children and most of his assets. His career was over. I wrote the letter and learned a good lesson.
At a time where so many people are fixated on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc., it is good to understand that those moments of glee do not tell an entire story. Many young people have found themselves depressed because everyone's life looks better than theirs. But is it?
Life is a roller coaster. It brings us up and down and all around. Appreciating what we have, understanding that the best of us go through difficult times, and having faith that a storm we might be weathering will eventually lead us to calmer waters, will help us realize that we all have our happy pictures--only some are yet to be taken.
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