Moody Monday

Once upon a time, when I was younger, there was a song by the Carpenters entitled “Rainy Days and Mondays (Always Get Me Down).” Oh, good grief, it’s not THAT long ago, just Google it! Sigh... Anyway, that was a double-header mood-monster – it’s Monday, and it’s rainy, so I’m going to feel blue, yucky, down, “down in the dumps” (as Grandmom used to say), got the blue meanies, whatever you call it, you know the feeling. Actually, I have to admit I love gray chilly days. I know, I should have been born in Seattle… but I digress…

The point I’m getting to is this – we choose what we do with our emotions. Now I’m not saying you always have to be cheery and put on your little fake happy mask. Not at all!!! Your emotions and feelings are YOUR emotions and feelings. Sometimes out of nowhere, you can have a wave of sadness and depression wash over you and totally blindside you. It’s hard to explain, you’re not even sure why, but it’s there as much as the nose on your face, and real, and it can actually be physically painful. And I’m not talking about necessary grieving over traumatic experiences, or depression brought on by bipolar disorder or any other medical condition, or PMS. I am the first one to say, if you are struggling, seek out professional help. If you can’t shake depression after several weeks, please – talk to someone and get assistance. I’ve been there and done that, and got the tee-shirt that says “I got help and I feel better!”

What I’m talking about is when we get up in the morning, and have something go wrong (like oversleeping, or getting cut off in traffic, or it’s raining out, or it’s Monday), and say to ourselves, “Well, that just ruined my whole day!” Did it? Did it really? Are you willing to give that much power to someone else, or to the weather? Okay, you had a momentary setback. Someone really ticked you off. Something crummy happened. Yes, it stinks. But… will you choose to allow that moment to victimize you all day long and ruin 8-16 hours of your life? Will you live that moment in your head over and over and over, like a stuck DVD? Or will you choose to override it, and move on? Will you move forward and choose to anticipate better things for yourself, and live your life in the moment?

Think about it. Meditate and pray over it. Journal it. Go sit in your car and primal scream until the windows fog up. That’s okay, it’s productive! Get up and walk, exercise, call a friend, do something for someone else. Breathe deep and release it. Then grab your life and your joy and move on, girl, because there is so much good ahead. Don’t’ live life in the rear view mirror. And if it is a rainy Monday, go out and lift your face into the rain like a wild woman, and splash in the puddles!

Blessings,

Linda