--Albert Camus
I was participating in a discussion recently with several friends about how we are coping with the "confinement" of these pandemic times. One consistently mentioned tactic is to go outside. Go for a walk. Hang out and look at the stars. Watch the birds and squirrels. It's quite cold in our area, so those outside adventures don't need to last very long. There's something about fresh air that is rejuvenating. I'm grateful for my angel dog, Barney. There are many winter walks I would have skipped had I not had Barney to exercise.
"Distinguish melancholy from sadness." This is no small challenge--I looked up definitions of melancholy and they all include "sad" or "sadness." So I'll go on my own ponderings. I think of sadness as being related to something specific, like a condition or event, such as the death of a loved one. Melancholy seems to me to be more of a general low state with no particular cause. I'm not sure if one is better or worse than the other. In terms of healing, February's theme, I'd say it's useful to feel whatever we feel and let it go.
"Find meaning" may be a stressful thought, like we have to have some big world-saving purpose in life. I find meaning in simply enjoying each day. It's meaningful to me that I help care for Barney and we each make the other's life better. I enjoy the work I do. I enjoy my hobbies of swimming, golfing and napping. I love hanging with my husband for a before-supper beer and talking about our days and life in general. Writing this blog is meaningful to me. From the 12-step literature: "Each day we live well, we are well." That's meaning enough for me.
Keep moving,
Leta
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| Outside with Barney, bbrrrrrrr!!!!!! |
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