Mental Health coping skills blog by leif gregersen

Hello Dear Readers!  Well, I have to apologize, I don’t have any photos to run so I thought I would just put in a picture of my book.  Things have been going really well with the book, I was on TV the other day in Edmonton promoting it.  It has won an honorable mention in a big contest and right at the moment I am in Toronto trying to promote the book.

The trip really has been wonderful, though the plane ride had its bumps.  The guy sitting next to me seemed to want to try and push me over as far as I could go and I was near the bathrooms so just about anyone, including the flight attendants had to slide past me rubbing themselves on my arm as they went.  Ewwww!

But actually the plane ride was only just over 3 hours which was a cake walk for me since I took another one of my annual trips to New Hazelton (see the blog entry ‘Tommy and Red’) and ended up on the bus or waiting in a bus depot for a total of 22 hours.  Traveling is so awesome though, now that I am at my sister’s place in Toronto I feel great.  I slept most of yesterday but I do feel pretty good.  Tonight we went to a place called The Keg Steakhouse and though the prices were higher than any place I’ve ever eaten, I had a pretty good time.  I ended up ordering an 8 ounce top sirloin and baked potato, and both were beautiful.

As far as my mental health goes, I feel okay.  I don’t know if it really is bad for mental health to sleep a lot, I certainly know that it is a symptom of nearly every major disorder, including schizophrenia and depression.  I often feel I need more than 10 hours a day, especially if I take anything to help me to sleep.

For some reason I find myself saddened by a young man in Edmonton.  Everyone in my neighborhood seems to know him, he has this whole gothic look to him, he has flowing curly blond hair and very masculine features.  He wears a long black trench coat even in the summer and can be seen wandering around talking to himself.  I used to see him a lot at the farmer’s market, walking around, quoting laws and all kinds of stuff.  I think back to some of my sicker days living in Vancouver I would turn my head and yell and then resume walking as if I hadn’t made any sound.  I have run into a lot of people who say things that they themselves don’t want to do but they somehow hope by saying  it out loud someone else will do it, and I suppose there are those who think people are listening to them with a hidden microphone or possibly that aliens are listening to them. What bothers me about this guy in the trench coat is that I saw him the other day sleeping on a park bench and I really hope he isn’t homeless.  I know so little about him even though he is technically a neighbor and I think a lot about how people shun those with mental illness and even get angry or violent towards them.  What can one person do though?  It really sucks.

Anyhow, I think that is all I really feel like sharing today.  I will try and take some photos of around Toronto, it really is a beautiful city with all kinds of trees, lots of natural wildlife like black squirrels and birds and so many new varieties of flowers that I have never seen.  There is also a lot of amazing architecture here, many many high rises and of course the CN Tower and the twin curving towers of city hall.  Below is today’s poem dear readers, hope you enjoy it!

 

Reach Out and Touch The World

 

Strike forth and do not let your heart or mind grow still
your hopes and dreams are what your soul wills
cross the world because all of it is your home
love all the souls on earth and they won’t let you be alone

I left my home when I was still part boy part man
left all that I loved, gave up all my plans
but somehow this path led me to the one
with her, life is now joy and full of love and fun

I try now to move the world with words
and I find so much joy in sunshine and trees and birds
and a dear friend is showing me the way
to love these things and still have it all one day

there is a world out there that longs and waits for you
perhaps even a love so beautiful and true
but it will not find you by breaking down your door
it might just be found in crashing waves by the seashore

we all need to do this, leave home now and then
never worry that you won’t find your way back again
if you don’t go you won’t ever know if there was a better way
or if that perfect love you haven’t found yet will come to you some day

I sit now writing poems of my love
and thank the god that he is our creator up above
because he gave all of us the precious gift of you
you, dear reader, with a heart full of love and peace so true

no, I don’t have to know your name
because the truth is we are all the same
we want to care for and love those that are near
and live our lives without any fear

love and the wish for peace is something we all share
despite the different burdens that everyone bears
work hard, stay humble, experience the happiness
and know that if you are not lonely you are richly blessed

Leif Gregersen
August 2, 2015