By Dr. Brandy Brooks, Co-host and Contributor, #mentalhealthMondays
When visiting my folks, one of my favorite things to do, other than enjoying boiled cajun flavored peanuts and red velvet cupcakes, is to get in the rental car and drive down the road and see where Waze leads me.
Over the Christmahanakwanzika (Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa) holidays, I had the opportunity to visit family and friends in South Carolina and Georgia and decided to visit Santee, South Carolina, a little town best known for its golf courses and being located on the State’s largest freshwater lake – Lake Marion. I added my destination to Waze, set up Bluetooth to blast my Everything Under the Sun playlist, and set out on my 2.5 hours.
Halfway down the road, my Bluetooth connection became spotty leaving me without music and directions. Not wanting to turn around, I just continued driving down the road and when in doubt turned slightly left. I drove by Yonder and still intuitively knew I was miles from my destination. As the fuel gauge got closer and closer to E, I knew I needed to get gas soon or I would be on the side of the road.
And then like a beacon above the horizon, an El Cheapo gas station came into view as did a sign advertising $0.50 wings. Though I passed on the wings, I like my digestive system too much to eat gas station wings, I now had a full tank of gas. 10 minutes later Bluetooth reconnected and I had directions and music again. And as luck would have it right next door to my destination was Bojangles. A 3 piece with 2 fixins & a biscuit was lunch and dinner that day.
I share this story because it’s a small reminder of the importance of both journey and the destination, one gives life to the other. The destination inspires you to take the journey. The journey is the process towards reaching your destination. As evidenced above, sometimes we need to be flexible, adapt to change and when in doubt turn slightly left.
As the JavaWithJimmy Mental Health Mondays platform continues to grow we must always stay mindful of our destinations and journey – where we are, where we want to be and how, what, why and when we get there. So in preparation for welcoming us all back into the JavaWithJimmy Mental Health Mondays, we ask you to respond to the following:
- What one or two things are you most proud of doing, experiencing, participating in, being in 2021? What one or two things show that you not only understood the assignment but slayed it?
- What is one area of growth for you in 2022?
Until next time, be well.
