Reply To: Wannabefree’s Friday night Blog…

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Hi friends.

Well… Here we are… We’ve actually made it through another week. Some of us may have been having a struggle at work, whilst others have been on holiday, hopefully somewhere nice. We have each taken breath after breath of air, hopefully without feeling guilty for doing so.

This leads me onto tonight’s blog.

Permission… Do we actually need to have it in order to function in today’s world? Everything we do seems to be governed by rules and regulations… Everything…

And yet… Do we really need another’s permission to be ourselves? Does anyone else hold that right over us as individuals?

This week I picked up a headless tambourine, and played along to some music on the radio… I actually enjoyed the feeling of beating along, but I don’t read music notation…

If I take it along to church on Sunday… Is it okay to play along? After all, some people clap their hands…

I could get kicked out!!! (I once got kicked out of a choir, for giggling…)

Barry Manilow sings a song called ‘One voice’.  Maybe that is what we all need to be… Just one voice, singing in the darkness… Then everyone else will sing…

With OCD, if we continually seek reassurance for things, we are effectively demoting ourselves, and putting someone, or even everyone else, above us, regardless of whether or not they warrant any authority over us.

In today’s society we are taught to conform. Now that, in itself, can be a good thing, in moderation. After all, When out travelling in the car, it helps to believe that the traffic coming towards us will stay on their side of the road.

But when it becomes a need to bow down to others whims, or to try to avoid contaminating the world around us… We are immediately putting ourselves at a disadvantage… Inadvertently of our own making.

We don’t have to believe other people’s opinions of us… We have a right to be here…

I will build myself up, take my tambourine along in a carrier bag… Rattle it a bit to give them a sort of warning of what is to come, and possibly bravely play along to the singing…

I will willingly contaminate the sound in the building. Ideally, others will eventually do the same… In some churches they actually have groups of tambourine players… But I sit at the back… That’s okay, isn’t it? Why am I asking permission?

If they don’t like it, there are plenty of other churches… Come to think of it, That’s probably the reason that there are so many churches!!!

Anyway, I digress.

Could we say that we need to give ourselves permission? We are our own closest colleague, friend or otherwise…

Let’s all be a little obstinate this coming week… Have fun without intentionally inconveniencing anyone else… Sing out loud to your favourite song on the radio. Giggle uncontrollably when something funny happens…

As OCD’ers, We are good people, who sometimes care a little too much about things. We are good people. And the world needs good people like us. Let’s smile a little more, let’s make conversation with the checkout operator in the supermarket… It will brighten their day too.

Let’s pause seeking other people’s approval for a while, and see if things change…  It’s my guess that they will, and we will find ourselves feeling more at ease with ourselves, and thus,  As we each take back control of our own selves  in the world, those people around us too. It’s definitely worth a try, Don’t you think?

Until next week friends, Friday evening, Same sort of time…

Wannabe