What Kind of a Day are You Having?

If you are like many of us, the weather is very `spring like'. A lot of rain, cloudy and just wet. Your car is dirty from driving in the rain, your shoes have mud on them, your entry way into your house is full of footwear so's not to track it all in the house. Wet coats are hanging on door knobs waiting to dry. Everything seems damp, even your bed sheets? The dog smells like a dog and yet he has to go out for another walk? The umbrella stands outside the door as if it will dry off out there? Well, if you live in a dry climate, perhaps you can visualize what the rest of us are living.

All of this makes for frustration and for some of us we get downright depressed as the sun continues to hide behind the clouds.

When the sun peaks out I take whatever I am doing and sit out on the deck. That little bit of Vitamin D I get is a help for a better disposition. I don't wear sunglasses during this time, or sunscreen. I'm not sure what the dermatologists would say about that, but the sun lasts such a short time that I think if I stopped to do all the precautionary stuff, I'd miss it! So out I sit for that short period of time and just soak up all the sun has to offer me. OK, I come in with wet clothes from the deck chair, but you can't have it all. The important thing is that I am making an effort to keep the depression `at bay'.

Depression can move in slowly and I can tell that if I'm tired mid morning, that's probably what it is all about. Now to look at the rest of the wet stuff, which isn't helping my mood any as I live in a small condo with 3 other family members and a pretty good-sized dog, Happy.

Each day, hopefully while I'm in the sun, I meditate. For times like this, I change my visualization and focus on something that reminds me of good times. Yesterday I worked on walking through a field of lavender in bloom. In my visualization I was wearing a yellow sundress and was barefoot. Big straw sunhat. As I walked I ran my hands gently across the blossoms of the lavender. The bees were elsewhere in the field and the sun was shining gently on the world. It wasn't hot out, as I do not care for the heat much. There was a gentle breeze and sky was a beautiful light blue. I could see the birds riding on the wind and could hear them call out to me. There was soft music, something Native American. I could feel the sun on my arms and it was the perfect temperature. I basked in my chair for about 10 minutes and then the clouds moved in again. But that's OK.

You don't need to have the sun to meditate on it. You only need your imagination. You body will feel what the mind tells it.

Get outside when you can and when you can't, just meditate on what you WANT it to be like outside. Your day will go better and you will find your work will be less burdensome then when you are tired or depressed.