Losing Your Sh*t and Cutting the Rope

February 13, 2015 Meg Brown

When we tune into the right frequency, everything seems to fall into place. I've had a difficult time the past couple of days, but an article popped up in my Facebook newsfeed that piqued my interest- and it couldn't have come at a better time. The article was published on Elite Daily and is titled, " 10 Reasons Why Losing Your Sh*t Will Make Your Life Come Together ." Intrigued, I read Aleksandra Slijepcevik's list that placed emphasis on the individual, and how everyone experiences life differently. Under "10. Your breaking point is your solo journey. No outside feedback allowed," she wrote, "When you feel like you’ve reached a breaking point, something beautiful happens: You begin to listen to yourself, your own truth and your own suffering — that’s where healing begins."

This resonated with me. It reminded me of a time last November when I had come home from a difficult board meeting at my full time job. I was still attending LSC as a full time student, and felt so lost and overwhelmed. Instantly I collapsed on the couch and just stayed there all day, lying on my back and watching the sun set outside my living room window. It was quiet. The bold colors of evening turned into the darker, muted colors of night and I just watched, feeling helpless and confused. My family came home and didn't understand what was wrong with me, or why I continued to feel low and upset for the remainder of the week. But after reading Slijepcevik's article, I now understand that those three days of aguish revealed to me what my breaking point is.

When her article popped up in my newsfeed last night, I was feeling overwhelmed yet again. What Slijepcevik's article revealed that hit me so hard was that no one understands what you're going through but you. Yes, simple concept, but one that's very hard to understand when your loved ones are restless and frustrated with you for wanting to do nothing but stare out the window for a few days. They don't understand. However, the line when article truly clicked with me was, "You're not broken; you're simply out of order. Don't apologize for that."

So I went to sleep pondering Slijepcevik's philosophical revelations and woke up feeling like I had a purpose again. I try to stay away from Facebook, but I signed in this morning to see if a friend had received my message from the night before when a video popped up at the top of my newsfeed. It was from Humans of New York. Sole blogger/photographer, Brandon Stanton had posted the forum he was asked to participate in at Harvard University. I have followed his blog for over a year and admire the way Stanton uses only a few words and a single image to reveal the personality and experiences of a total stranger.

In the forum, he explained how HONY began, that what it is now is not the idea he came up with to begin with. He said, "I think the one thing that holds most people back from doing it [something creative] is that they're waiting for that perfect idea to cut the rope behind them and start putting their energies towards something they really want to be doing, that they're really passionate about."

This reminded me of "The Hero," the latest book in "The Secret" series and my absolute favorite. It perfectly illustrates Stanton's quote through multiple examples of how successful people made their dreams come true, and focuses on the Law of Attraction. I think it's time to move it back on my nightstand.

I'm amazed that these two stories came to me at a time when I could really use some inspiration. Hopefully I'll continue on this frequency and will embrace losing my sh*t, and finding some scissors to cut the rope.