Know Thyself

The forecast for this week:  rain, rain, and more rain.  This is not what anyone wants after a loooonng, cold, snowy winter.  It’s morning and I peek out the window.  Yep, there it is, an overcast sky, the ground is still wet from yesterday and you know it’s going to rain some more today.  The sad feelings start to wash over me….the usual morning-person energy starts to slip away….hey, wait a minute—I can fight this!  It’s not raining this minute—a walk would really help about now.  So what if it’s 5:30 in the morning—the point is, it’s not raining right now!  I slip on my yoga pants (an invention created in heaven), some socks and shoes, grab a jacket and the dog, and out the door we go.  It doesn’t take too many steps before my sagging spirits start to revive.

This is one of the beautiful things about being a little, ahem, more mature than some folks.  (Okay, than a good many folks.)  You finally start to figure out something about how you “work.”  For me, not enough sunshine leads to sadness.  Not enough exercise--agitation.  Not enough contact with others--negative thoughts about life in general.  Hormones having a field day—all the above.   How very liberating to know what makes you tick!  Suddenly you have power.  You can actually do something to make yourself feel better about life.  And the wonderful part is that most of the “solutions” are as simple as can be! 

How about eating better?  Sleeping a little more?  Yes, there are times when you’re under a deadline or you have small children or an elderly parent to care for or some other serious issue shoves its way into your life—but it’s still good to know there are things you can do to keep a healthy attitude.

Another area I have to monitor—what’s been going into my mind?  When you're  a news hound there can be trouble.  Listening to talk radio, watching the news channels on TV, gathering more news from websites—I mean, come on now—you know darn well that’s going to bring a person down!  So when I start to feel too agitated, I realize it’s time to turn all that stuff off and tap into something beautiful for a while.  Classical music soothes this savage beast.  I read the Scriptures and revel in God’s promises.  Suddenly the world is not the scary, horrific place it was a few hours ago.  There is hope.  There is security and protection and peace.  

Have you developed strategies to keep yourself "up?"  I'd love to hear them.