A thought has occurred to me that it is possible we live our lives based on a series of episodes or events, defined by a single focal point upon which the rest of the ‘episode’ is centred. It could be a new relationship, the loss of a loved one, a new job or even a new home. All of these acts serve as a fixed point which explains how we feel or why we act in a particular way. Within these episodes, there may be a number of other smaller events but it is one larger, all-encompassing event that defines the period.
For example, a person might define one period of their life through the loss of their loved ones, whether it is a parent, a sibling or even a child. We all too often focus our lives on larger periods of time, looking back nostalgically on our time at school or at our old job. Our vision ought to be narrower in time frames, looking at a specific reason why we felt the way that we did.
It is reasonable to imagine that someone entering into a relationship might see the world in a different light, a positive spin on a world that only mere months ago might have appeared bleak and grey. It is an example of episodic living, shifting from pattern to pattern of living where our moods are defined by the changing features within our lives.
There are so many variables in our lives that these episodes could last for weeks or they could last for years. When people talk about episodes, they do so seemingly with hushed voices and whispers because it is commonly associated with mental disorders. It seems counterintuitive to associate this type of living only with a breakdown in mental health when we can readily identify peaks and troughs in our own lives that could easily be seen as an episode.
There is no shame in feeling that we go through moments in our lives that are more difficult than others. There is no shame in exploring the joy associated with new connections from lovers to colleagues. These are natural occurrences that are readily dismissed as insignificant when the reality of the importance is far greater.
Social media has made it easy for us to paint a picture of a life that we want people to see. When we peer behind the veil, the reality is more fragmented and fractured. Like a hard drive, we have coloured blocks and chunks that represent different things – joy, sadness, indifference, love, hate. We ought to be more open in recognising the power of these episodes because, in doing so, we are more capable of tackling problems proactively, rather than being reactionary.
If we look back on our lives and segment it, we can easily see the triggers and respond when we see them again. Our mental health is defined by these episodes. By reflecting and responding to our past, we are able to shorten the length of our dark episodes and flood light upon our positive episodes.
Like social media, we want the reality to reflect the painting. We can only do that through self-reflection and treating our life with more care. We cannot simply assume that our present state will be permanent and must respond and adapt to changes beyond our control to make positive and life affirming commitments.
The goal in living a life based on episodes is to see these events as being important in framing both our life view and our philosophy. Reflection gives us the opportunity to identify the negative influences in our life and remove them, rather than seeing them as part of a wider problem, we are able to isolate them.
Writeriori 