sǝuoſ ǝuıɥsunS

Have a good cry

I don’t mind saying that I allow myself to truly feel my emotions. When I’m down in the dumps I like to sit on my barcelona chair in the bay window of my bedroom for dramatic effect and let everything just come rushing out of me. We spend so much of our lives trying not to access the places within us which are unpleasant, dunnoe about you, but this feel like a lie to me, and it brings stress and a wet morose blanket into every aspect of my life.

Sitting quietly for five minutes with my true feelings and letting them all out not only purges me of the excess baggage, but also quickly illustrates just how boring self pity can be. It’s snooze-fest 98 all the way. I don’t know how I ever forget that, but it seems that from time to time I do.

Clean your entire house

There’s no better anti-depressant I know than filling the sink with scalding hot water and some murphey’s oil, busting out the mop and going nuts on my hardwood floors. Gives me a chance to dust everything, sweep every corner of every room, scrub up all that dust which sneaks in from the world outside.

They say that apart from car exhaust, which is that black stuff, the rest of the dust is flakes of skin and hair. When you get it all in a pile, ready to be swept into the dust pan, pause a second and consider all the skin you lost since the last time you did this. Who else’s skin and hair might be in there? It’s gross, but it’s also kind of like a dinner party for dust mites made up of your nearest and dearest. What fun! Now throw it out, quick!

Take a bath

Personally I like showers. I have a claw foot tub which actually fits me, but I usually want to stand up and shave and multi task when I’m bathing…

When I feel like crap, there’s little better than a nice hot luxurious soak. I don’t use bubbles, but my son does. Instead I just wash up, and then lay there with a warm wash cloth on my face and relax. I have done some reading in the bath tub, but make sure it’s a book you don’t mind getting wet.

Meditate

Quite different from the raw emotionalism of having a good cry, sitting still and listening to my mind is like being in the hand of God to me. Meditation can be as simple as taking a deep breath, pausing a sec, and then slowly letting it out, or it can be all sorts of things. You don’t need to be a Yogi to see that with all the demands we make of the universe, pinch hit prayers, and white noise around us, that there is deep virtue in being quiet, if only for a few moments, and simply listening.

Meet a friend for coffee

I love coffee, and I love my friends, so pick a close friend who you don’t have to actually talk with, or someone you adore whom you haven’t seen in a long time so that they can do all the talking. Maybe even meeting up with someone you have been avoiding is a good idea. Something to change it up.

Meet them, listen to them, really hear where they’re at, try not to talk about yourself, and make your coffee last.

Dance around your apartment in your underpants

I must be a savage beast, because music soothes my soul. I love classical music, jazz, and esoteric musical landscapes very much, but when I’m feeling like the roof sounds like a nice destination I put on some disco, or dirty house music, or serious dub reggae, close my eyes and just dance and dance and dance.

If you’re a self conscious type, then make sure you close your curtains first.

I’m not trying to suggest that whatever it is you’re going through isn’t valid, or that you haven’t got good reasons to be miserable. I know I do, but the aim here is to access a higher piece of your mind, and rather than deny yourself any valid emotional experience, or pretend like cleaning the toilet is going to make everything peachy keen. In my experience when I am in a loop of self, I need a mental shift which will allow room for the beautiful smell of the air into my lungs, or the vivid color of the sky into my heart. I need to create space to allow for my higher self to take over.

Dunnoe about you, but I’ve had enough of feeling like I’m going to break, that these things within me which I can not contain are beating me down, every day, a little more, until I can’t remember what it was I wanted anyway…
I let go, and I surrender. I forgive, and I accept. I am full of love, but sometimes emergency measures are called for.

Today was one of these days. I did all of these things, and a few more too. Now it’s about 2am, and I am gloriously peaceful. Ready to rest, and embrace whatever tomorrow might have in store for me.