Hi everyone:
It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve written but I’m back! Today’s topic is close to my heart, yes even I get depressed sometimes more often than not. The biggest thing in my life I miss the most (besides my kids & grand-kids) is teaching you. I was so high on life when I was teaching the Louise Hay classes back in Cleveland, the adrenalin just flowed like Niagara Falls. Well Dorothy you’re not in Kansas anymore.
I had a rough couple of weeks at work and meeting deadlines for The Journey magazine and a few other things I’m involved with back here. I was about ready for a breakdown by the end of Sunday night. So what did I do?I went out of town for a couple of days to somewhere I’ve never been before, Palm Springs. it had it’s moments, but you know that age-old expression “you can run but you can’t hide.” Sometimes, we just need to face what’s bothering us, but in the mean-time I’m going to give you a few suggestions to help you beat the blues along Life’s Lonely Highway 101.
There’s a myriad of things you can do to beat the blues, and I’m about to share them with you. Take what works and leave the rest on the shoulder of the road, for the next passer-by to pick up. Feel free to spice these up with your own ingredients, add some of your special blend of flavor to them to make them your signature “Beat the Blues” recipe.
- Memorize one good joke & tell it whenever you the chance. When I was bar-tending in my hey-day I was full of jokes that I would love to tell to my customers, since then I’ve forgotten most of them. I think I’ll go and search the archives and keep one good one in my repertoire.
- Learn a language, I’ve been wanting to learn Italian for the longest time (for when I take that cruise to Italy)…I’m going to add that to my bucket list.
- Do one thing that scares the Hell out of you, but do it anyway! In my trip to Palm Springs I went up 8,500 feet
(straight up) to the top of Mt. San Jacinto State Park in a cable car attached to only a cable with about thirty people in it. Ya, I was scared, but I did it and I’m glad I did, the view at the top was breathtaking, and the cable car is the ONLY way to get up there, there are no roads that go straight up a side of a mountain, only the cable car. - Have a kid teach you a fool-proof magic trick, then buy a white rabbit, (just joking about the rabbit)
- Perfect one recipe that you’ve always wanted to learn, then buy some wine and invite your friends over.
- Enroll in a course, just for fun, there’s lots of adult education courses at the schools at night, take one.
- Start writing a short story, and you don’t need to be a writer, just write one, make it up as you go along. Who knows you may be the next Stephen King or Danielle Steel.
- If you’re not already meditating, find a meditation technique that works for you and do it. Or, change up the one you’ve been doing for years.
- Create a blog, it’s easy if you just want to do it for fun, Google it, then send me the link and I’ll read it and be your biggest fan!
- Get someone to give you one of grandma’s secret recipes that’s been in the family for years and learn how to make it.
- Find something on your cell phone, or I pad, or whatever it is you have, that you don’t use, but learn how to do it!!!
- Try Yoga, for the longest time I used to (think) I strongly dislike Yoga, now I take a class every Monday and I love it.
- Learn to be alone: this one is hard for many people, but by “alone” I mean, no cell phone, no TV, no talking of any sort, just sit with your thoughts and you and enjoy the solitude. Start with an hour, then see if you can go 24 hours.
- Take a dance class, learn swing, salsa or get your exercise at the same time and take a Zumba class.
- Sing, like Julie Andrews in the Sound of Music, or sing your favorite Beatles song, just start singing and see what happens! Crank up that stereo baby!
- Make yourself laugh in a mirror, I remember being at Unity in Westlake one Sunday when we had a guest speaker who told us to just go to the bathroom mirror and force yourself to laugh. The point being is it’s pretty hard to stay depressed after that.
- Take a painting class, out here in Cali, we have Painting with Wine, and they’re on Groupon. I work Saturdays and most of them are on Saturdays, but I may take a Saturday off just to do that.
- Talk to a puppet, no I haven’t lost my marbles. It’s a popular therapy technique, talk to a doll, or stuffed animal, or create one yourself with stuff laying around the house. Tell it your feelings and have a conversation with it. I want to hear your results!
- Similar to #18, pick up a journal and just start free-writing, you’d be surprised how therapeutic this is.
- Hug your pet, or your kid, and if you don’t have pets or kids, then hug the puppet in #18.
- Volunteer, now find someplace that interests you and then sign up to volunteer. Goggle it in your city.
- Write down 101 things you’re grateful for, and don’t stop until you get to 101. You’d be surprised how many things you have to be grateful for in your life.
- Write down 33 things you’re proud of about you. Yea, you can start with Kindergarten, just keep going till you reach 33.
- Take a trip somewhere you’ve never been, it doesn’t have to be far, it could be somewhere near you that you’ve always wanted to check out but never did. Remember when I used to write Evstarr’s Escapades? Well, that”s what that was about. I’d be feeling “blue” one day and just hop in my car and head somewhere, then I’d come back and write about it in Evstarr’s Escapades.
- Rent a funny movie, I still haven’t seen The Big Lebowski.
- Go for a walk, get those endorphins moving.
- Buy yourself some flowers, after all who deserves flowers more than you. Trade Joes has them cheap.
- Eat healthy for three days, nothing processed, start with one day, then do another and then another. (Wine is okay it comes from grapes)
- Finally, the Grand Puba of them all, help someone else. This always helps lift my spirits when I’m helping another.
I hope this has given you some “Food for your Soul”
Thank you for your continued Love & Support,
