Today is another of those grey-sky cloudy winter days, but somewhere - blessedly - there is a hole in those clouds that I can't see from my North-West facing window, and it is letting through some beautiful winter-white sunshine. Everything out there is brighter because of it, and so is my mood.
Truthfully I suspect just about everyone suffers from at least a mild case of SADS (Seasonal Affective Disorder Syndrome, I think it stands for). I mean, who DOESN'T get at least a bit of the blues going through three or four or more months of the year with predominantly grey skies overhead? Sunshine just has a magical quality that brightens everything, and I for one am more acutely aware of its influence on me in these winter months. Oh I enjoy a nice sunny day in the spring, summer and fall just as much as the next guy, but truth be told I think I take the sunny skies for granted when they keep on coming one day after another. But in the winter I find I bumble along through the days, not even realizing I'm feeling just-that-side-of-bummed-out much of the time until HALLELUJAH, a sunny day comes along and suddenly my spirits are lifted. It's like I didn't really realize I was just-that-side-of-bummed-out until a better feeling came along.
It's kind of like life, I suppose; if everything is sunshine & lollipops all the time we start to take the good stuff for granted, just like we do with months of sunny days in a row in the summer. But when we have some dark days, some difficult times in our life, we appreciate the good times all that much more, just like we do on those days in the winter when the sun peeks out at us and reminds us of its presence again.
Whether we can see it and feel it or not, the sun is always there behind the clouds, shining brightly and sending us its warmth, nurturing us in unseen ways. That's the key to weathering those dark days of our lives; remembering that sunny days will come again. They always do. And when the dark days last for what feels like an interminably long time, we have to find ways to feel that sunshine in whatever ways we can, in whatever ways work best for us. It's unique for everyone.
Back to the winter weather. Some folks fly south in the winter, while others hit the slopes hoping to catch a sunny day perhaps, but nevertheless finding a way to enjoy the wintery weather. Still others invest in those light machines, sitting in front of them for a certain period of time every morning to get their daily dose. Without having investigated these lights, I'm thinking the idea makes sense in theory; maybe to save on the extra expense, I'll just put on my sunglasses and lay down underneath my table lamps, soaking up the 60-watt goodness. Do household bulbs emit UV rays? Ah well, not to worry; if they do, that's just a good excuse to head to the pharmacy to restock my supply of Hawaiian Tropic. Nothing like slathering yourself with the scent of coconuts to conjure up images of sandy beaches and crashing surf under a clear blue sky.
"Heading south, dear?" the nice sales lady will ask. "Nope," I'll reply, "just heading happy".
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