Autumn is my favorite season by far. The weather is still mostly warm but relatively mild and the evenings are balmy and calm. I love the change in the colors of the leaves, the time gradually changing with the days becoming shorter and the nights linger a bit longer. The warm days are still here but somehow not as harsh as the heatwaves of previous months. This whole transformation of nature changing dress and preparing for the eminent winter is depicted everywhere around us.
The other day we had one of those last hot days where people were trying to enjoy in variety of ways with the full knowledge that we should make the best of it while it lasts. Indian summer, I heard someone saying. Not sure where or why we get this phrase.
Nevertheless, it’s here.
I took the opportunity to take my dog down the beach for what it seemed like one of our last times where we could enjoy a swim before the waters turn to icy cold again for the next few months...
While walking along the shore and feeling the wet sand under my feet, listening to the waves crush and breathing the fresh seaweed smell and feeling the salty air penetrating my nostrils, I noticed three teens in the distance. One was walking on the shore with their tracksuit pulled up a bit higher than their ankles. The other had lifted their trousers to the knee and was deeper in the water. The third had taken off their pants and was in the water up to their waist. They were splashing water at each other and laughing and enjoying themselves savoring the moment.
This made me think of our experiences as human beings and particularly when we are all in the same situation or setting but our particular experience is unique and different to the others.
Especially within the context of the sane cultural or ethnic setting, or religious background, we could be like these friends, all walking along together but each one immersed at different levels in the water, at various depths. Also, in terms of wellbeing and mental health, the same issues or diagnosis of the same illness will affect each person differently. One is barely getting wet up to the ankles, the other up to the knees whereas the third one may be immersed up to the waist! Different impact at different levels.
So, it’s always important to look at the individual within the group, within the bigger picture and offer appropriate support for the particular situation. Not everyone’s experience of mental illness is the same even within the same culture.
