This week, 18—24 May, has beenMental Health Awareness Week, hosted by the Mental Health Foundation. This year, in the light of the coronavirus pandemic, the charity is inviting us to reflect during this week on the theme of Kindness, saying:

“We feel that now more than ever we need to re-discover our connection to kindness and each other in our daily lives. It therefore feels right to use Mental Health Awareness Week this year to celebrate the many thousands of acts of kindness that are so central to the quality of our mental health.”

Mental health is an issue of great personal importance to me. I have experienced depression, and have seen family members and friends wrestle with the same, as well as with various other types of mental health struggles.

One thing I have learned through my own experience is that the concept of body, mind and soul as separate entities is just not real. They all form one being. When I struggle mentally, it impacts on me physically and spiritually as well.

That is why, I believe, the concept of Shalom has been so important to the people of God since Old Testament times, and continues to be important for us today. We translate ‘shalom’ as peace, but it carries so much more meaning than the English word peace can convey. It is about having a sense of peace and wellbeing in every part of one’s being – including a rightness and wellness in the way we relate to God, to each other, and to all of creation.

So I would like to take up the invitation of the Mental Health Foundation and take it a step further: for the sake of Shalom – yours and that of those around you, and ultimately the Shalom of the world – be kind.

Micah 6:8 tells us that God requires of us to ‘act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God’. Interestingly, the word translated as ‘mercy’ is a Hebrew word, ????? (?e·se?), which more accurately translates as ‘unfailing, loving kindness’.

God requires of us to act justly, and to love unfailing, loving kindness, and to walk humbly with our God.

In this time, and always, when the going gets tough and when things are ‘normal’: be kind. God requires it of us. Be kind to yourself. Be kind to others. Be kind to the created world that God has given us. Do the things that nourish your soul and ease your mind. Do the things that make you healthy and whole, both as an individual and in your relationships. Give space to others to do those things that nourish and nurture Shalom for them. Be kind. Be kind. Show loving kindness, and be steadfast in your kindness, just as God steadfastly shows us loving kindness and mercy. Shalom to you.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your loving kindness – your steadfast love that never ceases. Teach us to be kind, to others, to the world, and even to ourselves. Grant us your peace, the peace that transcends all understanding, a peace that permeates every aspect of our being and the way we relate to you and one another. Amen.

Brenton Prigge

Helpful links for Mental Health Resources

The Mental Health Foundation website offers a range of tips and advice on how to look after your mental health during the Coronavirus outbreak (https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/coronavirus)

The Wellbeing page on the Methodist website is also worth having a look at: (https://www.methodist.org.uk/for-churches/guidance-for-churches/wellbeing/)