We're delighted and thankful to have Dominique Williams as a guest contributor on our blog this week. She is an Author, Life coach, Writer, & Empowerment Speaker. Dominique shares our mission of "inspiring and empowering women globally focusing on self worth, self esteem, dignity, and healthy relationships". You can find more information about her work at Empowering Women Poetry or follow her here on Facebook.
Fathers Day is fast approaching. While for some this may be a joyous time, for others it’s a painful reminder. Some girls may have their fathers wrapped around their finger. While others long for a father and/or father figure.
Fathers Day is fast approaching. While for some this may be a joyous time, for others it’s a painful reminder. Some girls may have their fathers wrapped around their finger. While others long for a father and/or father figure.
There are five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining,
depression, and acceptance according to Kubler-Ross. Grief doesn’t occur in a
specific sequence but it is based on the individual. Some people may not
experience all of the grief stages, some people may only experience one or two,
and some may experience none. These are the most common stages observed. This
article is not meant to tell you how you must handle grief but it is merely offering
you different coping strategies. In order to receive different results, you
must do things differently than the way you did previously.
There are various reasons why one might not be looking
forward to Father’s Day, whether it is death, divorce, separation, tumultuous
relationship, and/or incarceration. I don’t want you to deny your feelings
because in doing so you would be doing yourself a disservice. I understand that
your feelings and experiences are very real. Please don’t become consumed with
anger, as the anger poisons the vessel in which it resides. In having the why
me attitude, or saying life is not fair you tend to play the blame game. In
life certain events happen whether good or bad and over them we have no
control. In bargaining you give yourself a false sense of hope because you want
your life to return back to what it once was. If I know nothing else to be true
I know that change is a constant in life. In embracing and accepting change we
must remember that storms don’t last forever, the sun always shines again. In
depression one feels as if they are alone. It is a moment of hopelessness, a
moment of despair, where one has no drive or desire to do anything. It is
common for people who are depressed to stop bathing, stop eating, and stop
sleeping. I may be wrong but I don’t think you want to be known as the stinky,
unhealthy girl with bags under her eyes. If you are not careful depression will
kill you. You cannot learn or experience growth while depressed.
If I can tell you a little secret I am writing this article
with you in mind. I am writing this article for the little girl inside of me. While
growing up my father wasn’t in the home, due to divorce. My father didn’t
reside in the same state as me because he was in the military. My father and I
have a good relationship but as a little girl I longed to wake up and see his
face, and for him to tuck me in at night. As a grown woman with a daughter of
my own, I revert back to that little girl. I love to see him coming and hate to
see him leave. I try to give myself a pep talk, and rehearse over and over in
my head how I am not going to cry. But that never happens. I cry for a moment
but then I force myself to pull it back together. I tell myself it’s not
goodbye but that I’ll see you later.
Contrary to what you may think it is still possible for you
to still have a good Father’s Day. It is my sincere belief that God didn’t
place you on this earth to merely survive but to thrive! It is perfectly fine
to feel sad or to cry but don’t allow grief to conquer you. You can overcome
any obstacle thrown in your path and experience joy again.
When life hands us lemons we must make lemonade. If you were
to taste a lemon, you would describe the taste as acidic, sour and bitter. When
a lemon is accompanied with a sweetener and water (lemonade) you would describe
it as a refreshing, sweet treat. I challenge you today to consider yourself a
tall pitcher of lemonade, instead of being bitter and sour be sweet and
refreshing.
Write a letter, poem, or a song about your father, or the
father you wish you had. When you use your imagination there are no rules, you
can color outside the lines. You are free to create whatever your heart
desires. Go out and do something that you love to do. This will allow you to
have some fun and it will keep your mind occupied. Do something that reminds
you of your father, whether it is something you used to do together, or
something you know he loved doing. Celebrate someone in your life who has been
a father figure (uncle, grandfather, older brother/cousin, teacher, friend’s
father). Take a moment to speak with God, your heavenly father. Ask him to lead
and guide your footsteps. Ask him for the courage to press on even when you
don’t want to. Ask him to help you put your positive pants on!
You father’s presence or lack thereof doesn’t define you.
You are loved. You are a beautiful girl. Keep your head held high. Do not
remove your crown. You have purpose. You are worthy. You are enough! Your life
has significance. You can be happy, whole and healthy.
This article’s primary focus was acceptance. Through
acceptance you are not dismissing your pain but you are exploring new coping
strategies. You are not allowing the grief to cripple you, cause you to become
stagnant! You are regaining your power, you are exerting control. You are no
longer the victim but the victor. Through acceptance you can maintain a hopeful
outlook. Instead of focusing on your problems or what you don’t have, take a
moment to be grateful for the things you do have that you often take for
granted. I hope you have an amazing Father’s Day!
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