@winifredbeny 7 November 2022 more from that month

My stories of healing in my own world I used to want to be a superhero. I used to compete with myself in a fierce heroic race, expecting great achievements. I would do favors that I couldn't afford financially. I would help everyone, even those who didn't ask for my help. And at the expense of my own happiness, I would devote myself to making unhappy people happy. But life taught me that I could never be a real superhero. I had no special powers, I was a simple human being. I didn't even have a cape! No, I was never going to be a hero who saved the world. But fortunately, like all of us, I could be the hero of my world.

First, I learned from life that I needed to slow down a bit. I didn't have to be everywhere, to do everything at once, to please everyone, to produce endlessly. I could do these things, I had the potential, but in doing so I forgot to live my life. But life was not a task. It was a strange feast. And I was letting it slip away. I'm not against working like crazy. Especially in things I'm passionate about. But I know now that I should not neglect my mental and physical health while working. So instead of working myself to exhaustion, I prefer to take small breaks while I still have the strength. And it's so sweet to go back to work afterwards! To miss: This is the key word. We need to miss the things we love a little bit every now and then. Secondly, as a favorite song says, life has taught me that it doesn't rain forever. That all my sorrows are temporary and that after the dark clouds dissipate, the sun will smile back at me. That's why I can now walk through pain with my eyes open, with confidence. No, I no longer run away from pain. "If it's raining on you, open your arms and dance!" I tell myself. When I say that, I am also accepting that it is raining. And I know that acceptance is not a passive but a heroic act. The third big lesson I have learned from life is that being a small fish is not a bad thing. Yes, I know, this is a place where the big fish try to eat the little fish and the little fish risk everything to grow up. I think there is nothing wrong with being a self-producing, loving, playing, living being. Being small doesn't have to mean that we will be eaten by sharks, and maybe it doesn't do anyone any good to keep striving with destructive ambition to grow up. So I want to spend my life as a peaceful little self-sufficient fish. The fourth lesson is to do no harm. To nothing and no one alive. To speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, to help stray animals, or to see that we can make a difference by doing those small acts of kindness that we think will make no difference. That's the whole point... If we can make this our own special power, even if we don't become a superhero, we will sleep well at night. And it doesn't require grand gestures. We don't need to spend big money, we don't need to be in over our heads. It is enough to look at the world with kindness. Once we do that, the rest comes by itself. The fifth and perhaps the biggest lesson I learned on my way to becoming the hero of my own world is that everyone is responsible for themselves. Now, whenever I find myself trying to heal a wounded person, I ask myself: Who do I really want to heal? Does he want to be healed? And can I really heal him?

Nothing feels as good as being good to someone else. But I also know that we cannot save someone who does not want to be saved. We can't force someone who is comfortable in the quicksand, who never wants to change and never makes an effort to do so, to change just because that is better in our eyes. The energy we are going to spend on that, maybe we should spend it on, I don't know, taking better care of ourselves. Yes, maybe we can't save the world, but we can be the hero of our own world. And that's no small thing. In fact, for me, it's the key to happiness. Because when we are the hero of our own world, we write our own fairy tale, not others. And when we write our own fairy tale, we begin to inspire those around us to do the same. And that means a slightly happier society. Isn't that enough?