the color: blue.

the reality is sinking in about the importance of having a network not just as a twentyfour year old, but as a fortysix year old, a sixtyone year old and an eightynine year old. i've heard over and over: to age gracefully means to have a network and outlets. to have hobbies and friends. to have relationships. to be plugged in. to be part of a bigger social structure.

and if you don't have any of that, you have a much higher rate of depression (surprise!). and it's not like aging wasn't hard enough. douse it with a little mood disorder.

i fought back my own tears today in a session. this particular client is so alone, so desperate to be heard. and definitely without the network and outlets. and all i wanted to do was reach out my hand and hold hers. or hug her. and i couldn't. resisting to physically hold her and only therapeutically hold her was extremely difficult.

"not everyone thinks of blue the same way" she told me with anger and frustration. there is so much wisdom in her simple words.