Photo was taken at Rosscarbery, Co.Cork (Irl)

This adorable Bermese Mountain Dog is just full of positivity, love, cuteness, character, energy, confidence and so much more. A very appropriate image this weekend as we mark World Mental Health Day

Thought on Sunday – October – 11/10/2015

“I wasn’t accepting at all. I lost myself to someone who I wasn’t. Don’t bottle things up; you will lose friends. No matter how bad the situation may be, it always gets better.” ~Ashling Thompson, Cork Camogie Captain


Yesterday (Oct 10th) is World Mental Health Day. It is a day to promote positive mental health in our community, our home, our school, our workplace and the paths our lives cross into. If you ask someone what mental health is you will get lots of different answers and sometimes confusing answers as to what it actually means. If you take a different question and ask what is mental illness? You will find most people would have no problem answering, using words like depression, anxiety or darkness. But mental health is much more than not having a mental illness. It has to do with how we feel about ourselves, how we feel about others, how we are able to meet the demands of life and how we find balance in all the different things we do each day. Two students in our school wrote the following during the week and helps explain what today is all about: “Mental health is having a positive peaceful mind. You are happy, like your life and look forward to getting up each day. Mental health is feeling good about yourself. If you don’t feel this way its ok and it’s also ok to ask for help”.

Thankfully today we are embracing our mental health in a much more accepting and positive way. More people are sharing their story and how they turned their lives around. Ashling Thompson is one of Cork’s leading sports stars. She went through some very dark and difficult days but came through. Sport and camogie became her anchor and she is now holding the light for others who are going through something similar. Our Gospel stories also echo the importance of good mental health. Jesus was the one who reached into so many people’s lives, who helped them believe in themselves, who helped each person to treasure their light and to begin afresh. The same invitation continues today.