Another good night's sleep behind me. Feeling more level today.

I was sitting here responding to posts when the dog started to bark at noises outside. I heard myself saying to him 'It's Okay' and suddenly the words were very profound.

Often when I say to him 'Be quiet' or 'stop barking' he just barks more and gets increasingly aggitated. Yet if I say to him 'Its Okay' he seems somehow comforted and reassured. Nothing changed about the sounds outside but my assurance that everything was okay, that I was aware of the annoyance somehow gave him comfort.

I used to think just saying "everything would be okay" was more like a statement of denial. Like I was refusing to deal with reality. Now I have a new appreciation for the value of words that serve to comfort without them needed to change anything more than the level of comfort.

With comfort comes clarity and with clarity comes rest. Puppy was comforted and able to rest knowing it was okay for him to let the noises happen without needing to know why they were there. They were no long of any consequence to him.

Of course the noises soon passed. Such is the noise of the voice of depression. It is okay that it squabbles and squacks now and then. Soon it will stop and if and when it comes again it will be okay then too because like before it will stop again.

Have a good day my friends. Everything will be okay. Leave the noises outside and be comforted knowing they are of no real consequence. They are just noises.