What To Do When You’re Feeling Down? Look for Wonders!
Posted on 10. Nov, 2008 by Laura-Jane - Whimfield in Inspirations, Outdoors
Historically, when I’ve felt low or felt down, I act as follows: I sulk a little. I eat some cookie dough. And I watch something on TV that ends up making me feel even worse.
A few days ago, something wasn’t sitting right in my heart. So I sulked a little. But there wasn’t anything good to eat. And we don’t have a TV. So somehow, I found myself grabbing a wind-breaker and stumbling outside.
So I started to walk.
At first, I grumbled. I walked and huffed and puffed to myself and glared at the sky.
But as I walked, I came across a bird’s nest.
And then a tiny creek.
And soon enough, I was thinking good thoughts. I was seeing the world through new eyes again.
What to do when you’re feeling down?
I know we don’t all live in the country. And not all of us want to live in the country. But you’ve got to use what’s in front of you to bring you up if you’re feeling down.
I live in a minimalistic house on 60 acres, so I go outside. But there are natural wonders everywhere we look.
If you can’t get outside, turn to your fridge. Have you ever looked at a head of broccoli? I mean, really looked at a head of broccoli? It’s incredible stuff. A head of broccoli is art if there ever was such a thing!
But a word of warning. If you really start staring at fruit and vegetables up close, you can go bananas wonky. I once popped the green top off a pineapple and was so struck by the perfection of that action that I could barely eat the prickly thing. (The next time you have a whole pineapple in your hands, I urge you to snap the green top off. It’ll change your life.)
Unfortunately, the “food is beautiful” motivator isn’t an option for me these days, because our fridge usually only contains three jars of jam and a bottle of vinegar.
But the next time I’m feeling down, I’m going to encourage myself to get outside once again.
And if I can’t drum up the energy to do that, I’ll just eat brown sugar off a spoon and read the Sears catalogue. Because that works too, in its own way.
Laura-Jane - Whimfield
Nov 10th, 2008
What do you do when you’re feeling down?
Nicole
Nov 10th, 2008
As always, great photos!
When I’m down, it goes one of two ways: I wallow or I reject.
Wallowing requires some really depressing, dark movies. The phone goes off the hook and I fly solo for as long as possible, reaching for comfort food with both hands.
Rejection is just the opposite. I remind myself of how much worse it could be. I purposefully identify folks who have things that are so difficult and tell myself if those folks can triumph, I can just get over it already! :-)
faaron
Nov 10th, 2008
heh heh i like it
Laura-Jane - Whimfield
Nov 11th, 2008
Is it weird to answer my own question?
Weird or not, I just can’t resist talking about hot baths as the best pick-me-upper ever.
Our bathroom just has a stand-up shower. I sincerely miss having baths. I’m a water-baby: having my ears under-water just makes me feel better.
@Nicole: I like what you wrote about rejection. It’s important to try to remind one’s self about how lucky we are in the other aspects of life that are going well (health, wealth, family, whatever the good things might be for each of us). But…at the same time, reminding ourselves of these things doesn’t always work. It’s hard to escape the fact that we are who we are and we feel what we feel… On a lighter note, comfort foods are good… In the hour of need, I turn to cheese and doughy white bread.
N&M
Nov 11th, 2008
I phone people I love when I’m down! Call me sister……
N&M
Nov 11th, 2008
Or maybe I’ll call you because you have a phone……LOVE
John Quimby
Nov 11th, 2008
Laura-Jane,
How lovely to see your blog and re-connect with you this way. I wonder if you remember our visit at the Farmer’s Market in Dundas last August? You and Cameron were a highlight of my time at the plowing match.
In any event, I’m glad to see your photos and happy to read your words.
I’ve not had much time to write on my own blog from Dunn Creek Farm.
Susan and the boys came back to California in late August and I stayed on for another month of work on the farm.
Now I have rejoined the family and we’re working hard here to keep our heads while all seems to be slipping away in the current financial panic.
So, “What Do You Do When You’re Feeling Down?”
Hmmmm. Lately I’ve been feeling pretty high about our just concluded election. I spent a lot of time (and a little money) working to elect our new president. I am feeling rewarded by the results which give me hope for all of us. Hope triumphant over fear is powerful stuff.
Now the reality (and my own political de-toxing) is setting in and we’re staring at the hard times ahead.
The value of our California property has shrunk in numbers that would take your breath away. My work has slowed to a trickle and we have promises to keep that make borrowing money a luxury we can no longer afford, though for now, borrow we must.
My birthplace and family are here in California and when I imagine having to leave it behind like immigrant refugees, an icy hand wraps itself around my heart.
But…our hope lies on the horizon to the north.
We saw this tribulation coming years ago and we invested in our own resources to see us through. And as difficult as it may be to move on I have been re-assured by the one thing we are moving toward: community.
And that includes you.
On PEI, we have met people like you who have willingly left the unsustainable world and are willing to create a real life.
You’re young with so much ground to cover. We’re old, with fewer days ahead than behind. But both of us have weighed the choices and made the decision to take life in our own hands. You’re ahead of us now, but we’re coming along soon and one day we’ll all be settled.
So what do I do when I’m feeling down?
I Imagine supper at home with a fire in the stove. A potluck with Cameron and Laura-Jane and their little ones held in loving hands. I imagine Bryan and Lorna who have come north from New Hampshire with hard work and generosity. And Carol the teacher, who loves to tend babies and kitchen gardens. I imagine a little community of us who share the work and the worry, the tools and the skills, the meals and the songs and a life that’s rich in ways that matter most.
Look for the wonders today, yes.
Now just imagine the wonders to come!
Steven Fisher
Nov 11th, 2008
Hmm, that’s a really good question. I guess the answer is that I usually don’t do anything. I wallow for too long.
In the past, I’ve had success doing nearly anything to break my life pattern. I guess the most recent time I went through this, I started waking up two hours earlier and going in to work early. I got more done, and I had a bit of sunlight with my family in the late afternoon. I should go back to doing that, though it might be too late in the season to have any daylight.
Toni
Nov 11th, 2008
I usually cry/vent to my friends, but some of them still don’t have any phone service where they live ;) So instead I clean. (usually the bathroom)
Toni
Nov 11th, 2008
I just read back…… Did Naomi say that you do have a phone???
tipper
Nov 11th, 2008
A long walk always helps me-when I can make myself take it!
warren
Nov 11th, 2008
I drive nails. Sometimes I just drive them straight into a board. Other times I build something more or less useful. I just like to hit nails I guess. When I was growing up, I used to shoot targets. It wasn’t an aggression or violence thing. It was a focus thing. Shooting target made me focus on shooting, not on whatever it was that was bugging me. I have bees now and they somewhat provide the same release for me. If you don’t focus around bees, you can end up getting stung…a lot.
kazari
Nov 11th, 2008
I run out of things to write. Then I take note of all the ways that other people are making me unhappy (it usually isn’t really them, and eventually I figure this out). And then I go for a long, stomping walk up the nearest hill.
But I’m not very fit, so eventually the stomping has to give way to stumbling and breathless grumbling. And then I run out of breath completely, and have to stop.
Then i catch sight of the view.
Oh!
Perspective.
And by the time I walk down the hill, I’m thinking of completely different things than what made me unhappy.
And I realise I have things to write about again.
Vicki
Nov 12th, 2008
One of the things I do when I’m feeling down is to tune into UTUBE & watch dog videos and in the summer eat peas in the pod & fresh berries!
Vicki
Nov 12th, 2008
P.S. In addition to the above if I’m feeling down I read whimfield.com & it makes me happy!!!
Alison
Nov 22nd, 2008
I agree: going for a long wandering open-eyed walk is the most refreshing thing when I’m feeling low or if I need to think about something. Even if I don’t think about what’s wrong on the walk, it still helps me think about it with a fresh perspective later. Green tea, oranges, and very dark chocolate do a lot to improve things too.
(And if I’m full of anxious energy, chopping firewood is about the best thing going! however, we don’t have an axe right now or anything to burn the wood in other than the burn pile)
saria
Aug 10th, 2009
hey thxs guys this info helped now i really feel like taking a walk. what i mostly do to get away is just read because you forget your problems and get enveloped into the characters problems and the plot of the story. its like a drug in a way, because it just takes you to another world with worries,feelings,and visuals, that you otherwise,would never have experienced and at the same time all that you read becomes real in the sense that it overtakes your life at the moment,thus,enabling you to forget your problems.(at least for a while)
Laura-Jane - Whimfield
Aug 12th, 2009
Sounds like you really enjoy getting into a good book, Saria! I love it too. Once I start reading a good book I can’t stop! I wonder what kinds of books get you addicted?