Sometimes I feel blue. I don't know who first described the blah, disconnected feeling and attached the color "blue" to it, do you? I googled the phrase and it said it dated back to the 1300's. Wow.
According to that blurb, it also said that "feeling blue" was synonymous with sadness and being depressed. I suppose that pretty well nails it. Though being "blue" to me is not quite as ominous as the abyss of depression. I can shake the "blues"; depression is a bit harder to lose. Depression sticks tighter than super-glue.
The "blues" aren't quite as clingy. In fact, I can often figure out ways to get over them fairly quickly. Lunch with a friend-- or breakfast-- even sharing a cup of coffee, will send the "blues" packing to happily-ever-after. So will buying myself a bouquet of fresh daisies.
Just yesterday I was feeling sorry for myself due to so many days being cooped up in my house "resting" my sprained wrist, strained trapezius muscle and suspected Meniscus tear. I truly think the muscle relaxers had relaxed my brain so much that my Serotonin was paralyzed inside my head.
In hopes of charging my "happy", I took my afternoon coffee out on the back porch and sat in the swing. I'd only sat for about 3 minutes when I spotted a big fat red cardinal sitting on my fenceline. He seemed to be staring at me. A spark of pleasure exploded in my brain and lit a fuse of joy that traveled straight to my heart. I remembered a few devotionals I'd written about seeing cardinals on gloomy days. I felt it was a sign for me to get the bird-feeders ready for Winter. Don't you love watching birds?
As I was searching the web regarding "blueness", I came across this fabulous article on 21 Things To Do When You're Feeling Blue. You might like to check it out. I know from experience that some of these things have worked for me on "blue" days.
Pity parties are not appropriate when you have "the blues". At a pity party, you sit around feeling sorry for yourself; who would really want to join in that kind of get-together? What kind of celebration is that?
No; the better thing is to find ways to turn your "blue" into sunshine yellow. Look beyond yourself to someone else. Encourage someone else. Compliment someone else. Pray for someone else.
Grab a brightly colored marker and list all your blessings: Friends. Family. Shelter. Food. Faith. Eyesight. Hearing. Then thank God you have what you have.
As I lay in my bed tonight, I thought about something I'd posted on Facebook today. I'd said I was "behaving myself, resting my knee and was feeling annoyed" at the whole process. It occurred to me in the wee hours of this a.m. that I was blessed far beyond what many other people in life were. I thought about some friends who were battling cancer, of the precious lives lost this past weekend at the OSU Homecoming parade. I thought about the refugees pouring into Europe.
And there I sat complaining because I was resting in my recliner, feet propped up with all the time in the world to read a book, watch a movie, take a nap... sip a cup of tea... whatever. Millions of people are out there working hard, have no way to rest, nor even a chance to sit down. They don't have access to pain pills or muscle relaxers, and maybe not even a computer. Do you see how very self-absorbing the "blues" can be? Shame on me. And now I confess:
I must have rested so much during the day that my body and mind doesn't need any sleep. For here I am... at 2:44 a.m., writing my thoughts on the matter. If you happen across this little post and gain any insight that inspires you to let go of your "blues", then I am blessed for the circumstance in which I find myself and thank God. It had a purpose after all.
Be happy... it's so much better than being blue.
