"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible."

"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible."

Kindness does not have to be an overwhelming, overwhelming feeling of warmth or approval. It can be as simple as saying "I'm sorry" when you bump into someone or letting your mom carry the heavy grocery bag for you. Knowing one small act of kindness could go toward changing a stranger's entire day, and that experience can build resilience in them and make them less likely to suffer from mental illnesses or be susceptible to addiction later on in life.

In other words... Be kind whenever possible because it's always possible.

Here's the gist of what I want to tell you: If you are/were depressed, anxiety or going through a tough time, don't suffer alone. Help others with their own problems. It won't solve all your problems, but it will make them less daunting to handle.

You have a choice in this matter, the choice of being kind or not. You can be the person who opens up and shares their stories with anyone and everyone who is willing to listen because you know that it may change someone else's day for the better... or you can be a reluctant listener to those who are sharing their problems because you're too nervous about "getting involved" in someone else's life like that... or anything in between.

One thing you should know about this industry⁣ is that if you don't have the skills or resources to help, you will not be able to find a job as a photographer/videographer. Why? Because your potential clients would not want to hire someone who can't offer them something meaningful when they're in need of your services. So this is your chance to start picking up those skills while starting at the top of the ladder instead of beginning at the bottom. This could be your chance to change someone's day for the better and make a difference in their lives by doing so.

Take some time to think about what you want out of life and where you see yourself going. Then pick up a phone or a pen and start by doing something as simple as writing down the names of people whom you could reach out to for help and how you plan on doing it. After that, make a list of people who are going through something similar to what you've been through...or at least something in the same ballpark. Then take one step at a time from there by reaching out once per week by either making a phone call...or writing an email...or sending them a friend request on Facebook, etc.

It may not be easy at first, and it may even seem like too much to handle at times because you're nervous about doing it. But if you're living in a place where there's a lot of depression, anxiety or suicide, start from the top and build from there. It will all make sense later on when you look back.

Don't forget that the most important thing is to be kind whenever possible because it's always possible. If you have any questions or comments that I didn't answer, feel free to leave them in the comments section below. Be kind whenever possible because it's always possible."

-Imaginary Tracey was real"...

That's what my friend told me as he walked up to me. He was pointing at the imaginary Tracey which only I could see. She quickly faded away and I was back to my senses.

"Are you okay?" he asked in a concerned tone. I nodded, not knowing how else to respond. "Let's get you home then."

We started walking, but I found myself unable to keep up with his pace so he had to wait for me to catch up. It felt like the fastest pace of my life but the journey on foot was much longer than it seemed in mindtime because we made several stops along the way home. As we continued walking, my mind flashed back to the day of the incident.

"Tracey... Are you there?" I heard someone yell. I quickly snapped out of my flashback and looked around for the source of the voice. "Who is that?!" I yelled in frustration. I didn't believe it was real, but it couldn't have been a hallucination because when I opened my eyes to find out who was speaking to me, she wasn't there anymore. It had to be a fake voice, just another one of those invisible ghosts that haunt my mind every now and then while I'm on stupid adventures that would likely get me killed if they were real. I guess that's what happens when you spend too much time alone and you don't have a phone to distract you.

"Tracey... Are you okay?" I heard the voice again. It had changed this time, but there was still something about it that made me recognize it as the same person who'd been talking to me moments earlier... and yet again, she disappeared before my eyes only moments later. This time, her voice was replaced by a different one saying "You're not alone" over and over again while getting louder and louder. By that point, I'd begun feeling uneasy because of how many false hallucinations I'd been seeing of late.

"Tracey... Are you okay?" I heard one more voice. I turned around, but I was alone in the distance. It didn't sound like the same girl who'd been talking to me earlier, but it was hard to tell for sure because my ears were ringing and my head felt like someone had popped it with an empty bottle of wine. The pain began slowly creeping up on me, making it difficult to think straight as time went on.

This time, someone grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the voices and into a vehicle where they strapped me in and started driving away while calling out to see if I responded. "Tracey... Do you hear us?" they asked.

"Yes," I replied. "This is crazy..." I whispered to myself. If someone had the audacity to grab me by the arm and haul me away in a car like that, they better have a damn good reason for it. Who was this person who didn't know when enough was enough? They could've gotten themselves sued or killed if they hadn't pulled me out of there before anything bad could happen.

I looked over at them through my window as they drove me home...

Conclusion

What I've shared with you in this blog is only a small glimpse of what goes on in my mind every time I'm on an adventure. The reason why I called this blog "Visions of Turbulence" originally was because that's exactly what they were... visions. Sometimes they're frightening and sometimes they're beautiful, but all of them are real... and so are the people who go through them.

They say that it's important to know where you came from before you can go towards where you want to be, but the key word there is 'know'.