"There was a little girl,
Who had a little curl,
Right in the middle of her forehead.
When she was good,
She was very, very good,
But when she was bad, she was horrid."
That's a verse written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and I can remember my mother misquoting it whenever she was asked how she was coping with having twins. When they are good, she'd say, they are very good indeed... but that doesn't happen very often!
It's not just little girls but life itself that can be very good indeed or utterly horrid.
For most of us the good times far outweigh the more difficult but those more difficult times, especially if they last a while, can be really tough to deal with.
Right now, if the people I am coming across are anything to go by, life is pretty stressful for lots of people. I am used to seeing folk at sad times. I have the privilege of hearing families talking about their love for parents or spouses, children or siblings when they have lost them. Through the tears, the doubts, the anger and confusion, I recognise the love that is responsible for the loss being felt so keenly. I am used, too, to listening to people expressing a similar range of emotions when they face an illness for which there is no cure.
Right now though, there seem to be so many struggling for other, very different reasons. People are feeling the pressure of, for example, uncertainties surrounding work. Relationships and the lack of them are taking their toll on folk, as are financial worries, the feeling of being socially isolated and trying to care for family at a distance.
When life is good it can be very good indeed, but when it's bad it's absolutely horrid.
Life seems so pressured right now for so many.
Being given the chance to talk about things may not do anything in practical terms to help solve people's problems but, as the old saying goes, a problem shared is a problem halved. Have you noticed neighbours or friends looking tired or strained? Perhaps if they had someone who asked them 'how are you?' and who then stopped to listen to their answer, perhaps that might go a long way to helping these people under strain feeling even just a little of that pressure being relieved.
Could you be that listening ear?
And if you are the one who needs to talk, see if you can find just one other to speak to. It could turn life around from being bad to being very good indeed.
