You Are a Person Having a Bad Day

With another handmade paper mat completed, it needed words. I have had people call my mats paper quilts, paper collages, even paper montages. Whatever they are called, I think they bring a punch of fun, color and vibrance to the words. Knowing that this is a quote from Frida Kahlo, it makes sense that there be color. Oddly enough, Frida never sold a piece of her work during her lifetime. Her style and use of color was greatly influenced by her Mexican heritage, suffering, and personal struggle to be who she actually wanted to be. She spent years in bed as she suffered from debilitating back injuries and pain, which did not damped her spirit. So when I read these words, I did not hear them as a platitude. I experienced them from someone who suffered and yet kept going.

At the end of the day,
we can endure much more
than we think we can.

– Frida Kahlo 1954

No matter where you are in life today, you can endure. It may not feel that way. You might be tired, depressed, feeling alone or overwhelmed. No matter your emotional or physical state, remember that you are going to get through this. Tough times never last, it only seems to feel that way. EVERYONE has taught times, bad days, dreadful experiences and disappointments. It is part of the human condition. And it is okay to sit down, cry, rage, or even sleep until you have the energy to get back up. Maybe your mental and physical health is telling you it needs a break. So rest, cry, scream or just do nothing. Time will pass and so will this terrible, horrible, no good day.

And then it is your chance to wipe away the tears, take a shower, put on clean clothes and straighten your bed. With a deep breath, take one step forward. You do not have to conquer the world in one day, one conversation or even in one month. Do what you can do, do it well, then sit. Sometimes a slow start is what is needed…it’s still a start! You aren’t down for the count unless you choose to be. A little step is still a step.

So let these words from Frida Kahlo remind you that you CAN endure more than you think you can. We all have down times, and yes they do go away. Endure and it will change. Give yourself a break and keep going. You are not a bad person, you are a person having a bad day.