Strange how you can find yourself affected by colors, and temperature at this time of the year. There's just no getting away from it, you think. Well, there is, but usually you have to have the financial resources to do it!
Make sure you have light
So, if you decide sunny vacations are not for you, you have to work with what you've got.
There seem to be several ways to overcome the dark days. It's a matter of finding them.
I'm very prone to suffering from winter blahs.
Keep busy
It wasn't expensive, and I use it when I'm relaxing, usually morning and evening.
It does seem to help.
If you don’t. Maybe it’s time to try something new!
Join a group, any kind at all, that you find interesting. Force yourself to interact with and reach out to others.
Think about what you really love to do, and then make sure to share it with others.
Winter will go in a flash.
Every year my friend June picks some sprigs of winter jasmine from her always copious shrub, and makes sure her friends get some. it grows against her wall and flowers all winter.
Its bright yellow flowers cheer the heart of all the lucky recipients!
Hibernation is only a second option
I saw sunbeams on a wall
Where there was no sun at all
I saw sunbeams on a stem
smiling at me,
Crowds of them
(Poem from me to June many years ago.)
Go for a walk
Weather’s awful. Snowdrifts up to the windows. Can’t stand the idea of getting out there in it?
When in doubt go to your local shopping centre! Just walk as if you were outside, but there are'n’t the elements to battle. Not even a small mall? Walk up and down the aisles! You'll probably make some new friends doing the same thing too.
Just make sure someone knows why you're doing it. You don't want a visit from the big men in white coats!
Necessity is the mother of invention. Good health is a necessity.
Plan a treat
One of my favorite things is to walk through a lovely garden centre. The plants breathe out oxygen, so it's like a dose of well being. I can feel it right away when I go into their environment.
It's even better when you go with a friend or loved one. Then have a coffee or tea together.
Relaxation is important
Find beauty
Use technology
Don't know anything about computers? Free courses abound in libraries and community places. Enter a whole new world!
Kindness works
Creations from the hands
I'm knitting simple orange squares. They're childlike in their simplicity. By themselves they're not much.
But when they're joined together by expert friends, and mixed with suitably matched colors they become a vibrant and exciting blanket.
This Christmas the blanket with my orange squares will cover someone who needs warmth and comfort. I don't know yet who the recipient will be, but I hope someone else might give him or her some flowers too - nice bright ones.
I'm writing this on Thanksgiving day. And I'm thinking of all of you who read this, because you are the friends I love.
I'm thanking all of you, because you are my dear friends. Some of you I know and love in real life. Many of you are virtual friends from all over the globe.
It's by the miracle of technology that many of us have grown to know about each other, and to care about each other. Each day is about being open to new experiences and new people.
Today I'm thankful to have you in my life.
Changing gears
For anyone who might have missed it, June, our master storyteller, contributed a memoir piece from her life in Monday's edition of From Loss to Living.
It was the first time she's ever written on line, and it took courage, just like it always does when you try something new!
It's a heartwarming read.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone. See you again next Monday!