Moving on and forgiveness...

I ran back to my hometown area for some July 4th festivities and ended up having a good frank talk with my mom on the drive back to the city.

There are many things we don't agree on but I've been telling her about what interests me most in community mental health and she seemed to listen.

Also had a good chat with my uncle about kids and their poor work ethic and inability to honor commitments.

Despite certain things that I don't see eye to eye with my family on, they did instill good work ethics in me, and how can I not be grateful for that?  

As I complete the workshop im participating in, my views on things sharpen and become stronger.  Mental health is crucial.  It's not to be used as an excuse for poor judgments or it's not to be abused and stigmatized by powerful media forces.  It's about getting into the community and reaching people who are struggling with their own mental health issues (yes, sometimes originating in family/childhood hardships) and letting them know ITS OKAY TO ASK FOR HELP!!!  

And as I was discussing with my mom tonight, it takes time to get the right, individual treatment for an individual.  It takes someone to stop and listen.  It takes trust.

Most of all, it takes kindness.