A few years ago, I posted for a project that I needed peoples’ suggestions for “100 Ways to Fill Your Love Tank” – what you do to lift your spirits. Just like a car needs fuel in the tank, we need “fuel” to keep us going. Just discovered them in my folder. Maybe some of these will help you today.
1) In such a busy life, me is sometimes the last person I hear from, so I find I need to purposely make that time. I sit with a cup of decaf Earl Grey in my library, being quiet and listening to what my heart is trying to tell me. Though I may cry, I often feel much better, because I’ve been able to take the time to be with me, to think about me, to ask me what I need, to listen to me.
2) I read, voraciously, usually something lighthearted or funny. Pulp fiction is great for this, especially when you can suspend reality and put yourself in a character’s shoes who has such ridiculous or serious problems that yours become so much less.
3) I take a walk around the neighborhood, to see what’s new. If I’m mad or upset, I walk quickly, until I feel better, whether it’s 5 minutes or 50. If I’m just melancholy, I’ll walk slower, trying to focus on what might have changed or the feeling of walking.
4) I spend time with friends, either quietly or not. This year has been pretty trying for me, so my best friend and I have been watching the complete seasons of Gilmore Girls. It’s made me feel loved, especially when I didn’t want to talk.
5) I go to the airport and watch families reunite at the end of the concourse. It always makes me so much happier that I do have my family, and hopeful that someday, I’ll be one of those mothers catching running children at the end of the concourse.
6) I watch a children’s movie–something like Finding Nemo, Ice Age or anything Charlie Brown. Perspective does such great things for people, and especially me, because I find that my depression usually comes from how I view events and my choices related to those events.
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