Dreary to Dreamy

Dreary morning… pouring rain, blowing wind… you feel alone… and a little bit of depression sets in.  Weather taking a bite out of our day – eh?  I know when this happens to many people it can feel sad or scary.  Sometimes being around dreary people can take a bite out of you, too.  Unless you are trained as a therapist or know how to deal with this energy you feel down, and down, and down. Hmmm.  You caught the dulldrums. What to do… what to do? What to do?
One way to get out of the dulldrums is to start with realizing that you’re slipping down the hole that Alice in Wonderland fell in.  Grab a hold of a good deeeeeep breathe and let it go slowly. Do that a couple more times till you feel the ease in your shoulders, sort of like your shoulders drop down a bit. Now close your eyes and picture a colorful flower, like a red tulib, yellow rose, violets, or bright orange marigold. Listen for calming sounds like the ticking of a clock, sounds to lull you into a quiet space, or if you’re lucky the purring of a cat. (smile) Imagine smelling peppermint, orange or vanilla.
Decide with intention that when you open your eyes you will give yourself a gift of joy. Keep your eyes closed. Now, create a story in your mind of something or some experience that would be really fun. Theatre, softball, dancing, writing poetry, swimming, driving to Toronto, whatever looks and sounds like a different experience. Wander around in that for a while. When you find yourself smiling, open your eyes and look up and take a breathe. Now ask yourself what is needed for you to do for yourself today. Make a mental list of activities that you want to work on. Pick what is most important and valuable.  Imagine that you are surrounded with golden light. Build that feeling until you feel the smile, the warmth or a shift. Open your eyes…  take a few moments and jot down the ideas in your mental list that you want to work on. Now just take it step by step.
You can give yourself another boost with a glass of water or hot green tea later. You can take a walk. (Even walks in the rain can be enlivening.)  Work on completing one small idea on your list and get started on another one. By the end of the day you realize with pride how you lifted yourself and got something done.
You’ve gone from dreary to dreamy and are now in a happier mood, and the depressing, dreary dulldrums are withering.  Remember that light you imagined? Turn it up again when you get around others. It’s a big world out there and everyone gets their boatload of challenges, just like you get yours. You remember now that it’s not necessary to take on the rest of the world. Just manage your list.
Give this a try and let me know how it goes. Feel free to give me a call if you want a guide to give you another boost. We are here for you at Apositiva in Portland.