I struggle a lot with getting overwhelmed by the things I have to do. Then I don’t do them. Then I get more overwhelmed. Then I don’t do them… I think you see how that works. Well, I’ve been working at changing that. This poem kind of articulates that struggle for me.

The Way Forward

Sometimes the things we plan to do,

Do not go as we’d hope.

And then we stress and blame ourselves,

Step on that slippery slope.

Now from that stress, depression comes,

To sap our will to try.

It just gets worse the longer we,

Allow time to slip by.

Before you know it’s spiraled down,

So overwhelmed we feel.

And though we tell ourselves it’s not,

Our black despair is real.

But here’s a thing I’ve had to learn,

That’s not a healthy place.

If you give in, if you get stuck,

Believe you’re a disgrace.

You can get stuck, see no way out,

But that’s not true I swear.

You can get free, can break those chains,

Find your way back from there.

Like any trip, it’s that first step,

The bravest thing you do.

Once that thing’s done, take the next step,

And then another too.

There will be times it will be hard,

You take no step that day.

And maybe two or three go by,

You think you’ve lost your way.

But you aren’t beat so don’t despair,

Can’t lose until you quit.

So give yourself permission to,

Fail. Make your peace with it.

But from that setback rise back up,

Push on despite the pain.

For even just the smallest step,

Is still some kind of gain.

So understand you will despair,

But you don’t have to dwell.

For each step’s one step closer to,

Escaping from your hell.

Cheers, Winston

Sir Winston Churchill, for whom I was named, once famously said, “When you’re going through Hell, keep going.” It seems to apply here.