Lesson in Cheering Yourself Up

Everybody has blue days.

These are miserable days when you feel lousy,

grumpy,

lonely,

and utterly exhausted.

Days when you feel small and insignificant,

when everything seems just out of reach.

You can't rise to the occasion.

Just getting started seems impossible.

On blue days you can become paranoid that everyone is out to get you. (This is not always such a bad thing.)

You feel frustrated and anxious,

which can induce a nail-biting frenzy

that can escalate into a triple-chocolate-mud-cake-eating frenzy in a blink of an eye!

On blue days you feel like you're floating in an ocean of sadness.

You're about to burst into tears at any moment and you don't even know why.

Ultimately, you feel like you're wandering through life without purpose.

You're not sure how much longer you can hang on,

and you feel like shouting,"Will someone please shoot me!"

It doesn't take much to bring on a blue day.

you might just wake up not feeling or looking your best,

find some new wrinkles,

put on a little weight,

or get a huge pimple on your nose.

You could forget your date's name

or have an embarassing photograph published.

You might get dumped, divorced, or fired,

make a fool of yourself in public,

be afflicted with a demeaning nickname,

or just have a plain old bad-hair day.

Maybe work is a pain in the butt.

You're under major pressure to fill someone else's shoes,

your boss is picking on you,

and everyone in the office is driving you crazy.

You might have a splitting headache,

or a slipped disk,

bad breath,

a toothache,

chronic gas,

dry lips,

or a nasty ingrown toenail.

Whatever the reason, you're convinced that someone up there doesn't like you.

Oh what to do, what to doo?

Well, if you're like most people, you'll hide behind a flimsy belief that everything will sort itself out.

Then you'll spend the rest of your life looking over your shoulder, waiting for everything to go wrong all over again.

All the while becoming crusty and cynical

or a pathetic, sniveling victim.

Until you get so depressed that you lie down and beg the earth to swallow you up

or, even worse, become addicted to Billy Joel songs.

This is crazy, because you're only young once

and you're never old twice.

Who knows what fantastic things are in store just around the corner?

After all, the world is full of amazing discoveries,

things you can't even imagine now.

There are delicious, happy sniffs

and scrumptious snacks to share.

Hey, you might end up fabulously rich

or even become a huge superstar (one day).

Sounds good, doesn't it?

But wait, there's more!

There are handstands

and games to play

and yoga

and karaoke

and wild, crazy, bohemian dancing.

But best of all, there's romance.

Which means long dreamy stares,

whispering sweet nothings,

cuddles,

smooches,

more smooches,

and even more smooches,

a frisky love bite or two,

and then, well, anything goes.

So how can you find that blissful "just sliding into a hot bubble bath" kind of feeling?

It's easy.

First, stop slinking away from all those nagging issues. It's time to face the music.

Now, just relax. Take some deep breaths (in through the nose and out through the mouth). Try to meditate if you can.

Or go for a walk to clear your head.

Accept the fact that you'll have to let go of some emotional baggage.

Try seeing things from a different perspective.

Maybe you're actually the one at fault. If that's the case, be big enough to say you're sorry (it's never too late to do this).

If someone else is doing the wrong thing, stand up tall and say,"That's not right and I won't stand for it!" It's okay to be forceful.

(It's rarely okay to blow raspberries.)

Be proud of who you are,

but don't lose the ability to laugh at yourself.

(This is a lot easier when you associate with positive people.)

Live every day as if it were your last, because one day it will be.

Don't be afraid to bite off more than you can chew.

Take big risks.

Never hang back. Get out there and go for it.

After all, isn't that what life is all about?

I think so too.

-Bradley Trevor Greive in The Blue Day Book -