Who are you?   You and I come here every now and then to read, with a coffee mug in hand.  You and I are the grey matter in the central nervous system that enables us to control movement, memory, and emotions in this world.  You and I are able to move around to get from the living room sofa to the kitchen without difficulty.  You and I are able to recall the memory of what we just did as we got breakfast from the kitchen – perhaps a toast or a bagel from the toaster oven.  You and I are able to experience the delight of having our appetites filled.  Perhaps you and I do this every now and then.  Who are you?

From Mathew 18:12,

12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go in search of the one that went astray?

Who are you?  The one lost and gone astray OR one of the ninety-nine sheep, of a hundred.  When I am sick with my mental illness, I am the one lost.  But when I am well, I am the one in the ninety-nine sheep.  (I move into and out of the flock.)

I like being one in the ninety-nine.  When you are well from your illness, don’t you like being the one in the ninety-nine.  Who is the one in the ninety-nine?  Dare I say that he or she is one among the ordinary people.  You and I are not necessarily famous or rich.  We wake up every morning, sit in and read on the living room sofa with a coffee mug in hand, travel to the kitchen to satiate our appetite with delight.  Who are you?  You are among the ordinary people.

I suggest through living life as an example to strive to be among the ordinary people, away from your mental illness.  I suggest choosing to be among the ordinary people.  If you like the arts, draw or paint once and a while.  If you like music, pick up an instrument to play – a guitar, drums, or even sing once and a while.  Arts and music can be very calming.  If you like exercising, pick up yoga or jogging once and a while.  Can you think of anything else you might like?

I spent many of my years being the lost one.  I just brought misery to myself and everyone else.  I was in and out of hospitals and have seen many psychiatrists.  While medication helps, it is also a beginning.  Once you have the right medication, seek to be among the ordinary people who fill their days with arts, music, and exercise.  That is just the beginning.  The world is out there for us to be among the ordinary people.  You will find peace when you choose to do something good and different despite your past and your mental illness.  (Repeat declaring, Who am I? . . . I am an ordinary person!)  In my own journey, I chose to be more than my mental illness and I found God.