Last week was the beginning of Lent, which is a 40 day period before Easter. Traditionally, during this time people will give up something. Some big examples that I have heard of include a certain food, or staying off of a social media site, such as Facebook. Being the hit or miss Christian that I sometimes am, I have had years where I have chosen to participate and years that I have not even thought about it. This year, though, on Mardi Gras (the day before Lent), it came to me – this year I would give up undeserved blame. Let’s explore this a little bit more.
When I really started to think about it, I realized how much blame is in my life. And it is not only me blaming other people, situations, or things. I blame myself for many, many things – things I can’t control, and things that are undeserved on my part. Of course, I am not the only one who does this. Then, when thinking about mental health, there is a ton of blame found in this area. Again, much of it undeserved. Can anyone or anything be blamed for mental health? I do not like to use the word never, but I would say blame should almost never come up when it comes to mental health. I do not think anyone should be blamed if they have a mental illness – and for well-intentioned friends and family of someone with a mental illness, those people should not be blamed either.
What would my world look like if I gave up underserved blame? What would the entire world look like if we all gave up undeserved blame? What would the world look like if personal blame was completely eliminated from any discussions about mental illness? I am hoping to learn more in the next 40 days.