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Blue Motivational Monday

Kamál (Perfection), 2 Qudrat (Power) 175 B.E. - Monday, November 5, 2018

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Bust those Monday blues with Motivational Monday! Share a motivational quote and why it inspires you. If you do not have a specific quote, share a story about a person, object, or place that inspires you.

As someone who suffers from depression on a semi-regular basis, I'm somewhat sure that the blues has very little to do with motivational quotes. Depression, the blues, or brown study (whatever you want to call it) is a mental health issue, which can be dealt with in several ways. I don't take antidepressants. Over the years, I have discovered the triggers that send me into a depression episode. One of those triggers is the negative voice of fear that says "You screwed up again!" This occurs when I suspect that I did something wrong, and I can't find a way to right it.

I've found that the best way to deal with this voice is to say the following prayer revealed by 'Abdu'l-Baha, and move forward. If I don't move forward the depression will lead to paralyzing fear, which causes me to procrastinate and over-think the situation. I usually find that what I was worrying about or afraid of was an episode of vain imaginings. If, by some off chance, it turns out that I really do have something to worry about I can now deal with it calmly without worry.

"O God! Refresh and gladden my spirit. Purify my heart. Illumine my powers. I lay all my affairs in Thy hand. Thou art my Guide and my Refuge. I will no longer be sorrowful and grieved; I will be a happy and joyful being. O God! I will no longer be full of anxiety, nor will I let trouble harass me. I will not dwell on the unpleasant things of life.

O God! Thou art more friend to me than I am to myself. I dedicate myself to Thee, O Lord."

‘Abdu’l-Bahá1

Footnotes
1  http://www.bahaiprayers.org/spiritual10.htm