No matter how upbeat and optimistic we strive to be, everyone has bad days, sad days, and days we wish could be “do-overs.”
So, how can we refocus, re-energize, and keep going during such times? Here are a few things that work for me:
* Connect or reconnect with a trustworthy friend whom you can be open and honest with–and who has good listening skills.
* Get out of the house or office and into nature. Even a short walk along the shore, in the woods, down a quiet country lane, or in a local park can sometimes be enough to activate the “reset” button.
*Drop what you are doing (or brooding about) and focus on your pet for an hour: Play with your cat. Cuddle your rabbit. Take your dog to the park for a game of fetch or a nice, long walk. Groom or ride your horse. Really watch and appreciate the beauty of your pet birds or aquarium fish.
* Journal. In other words, talk to yourself about what ails you. Writing down problems and disappointments externalizes them and can be the first step toward understanding and resolution.
* Meditate, pray, do yoga, or whatever you do to spiritually center yourself and transcend the mind chatter that is throwing you off-balance.
* Listen to good music, wander through an art gallery, visit an arboretum. Immerse yourself in beauty.
*Borrow a kid for the day. Play, have fun, and soak-up some of his or her youthful exuberance.
* Begin and end each day with an inspirational thought, prayer, or meditation. There are many “daily meditation/thought for the day” publications in print. Two such magazines are: The Upper Room (non-denominational Christian) and My Daily Visitor (Catholic Christian).
If you’d rather surf the Internet, there are many inspirational websites and blogs out there. The first e-mail I open each morning is a “Thought for the Day” from The Association for Research and Enlightenment. Each begins with the phrase: “Make the World a Better Place Because Ye Have Lived In It” and is followed with a short reading by Edgar Cayce. Here is one from a couple of days ago:
“Hold no grudges. Find no fault with others. DO show appreciation for all efforts, not only for self but appreciation for the OPPORTUNITY to speak to and with others as to how they should appreciate THEIR opportunities among their associates in WHATEVER walk of life it may be.” Reading 2514-3
Have a good day!
