Blog Entry #2800

I've posted to this blog 2800 times! Sometimes I mark these landmark posts by writing something to introduce myself, like post #2300 a year ago which listed the main schools I've attended.

This time I decided to mark the occasion with thoughts on dealing with circumstances that depress me. After all, it's January, one of the coldest and gloomiest months in the Mid-Atlantic Region. So here are:

Three Things That Make Me Depressed
and How I Deal With Them

1. The world is going to hell in a handbasket! War, climate change, the destruction of wildlife… If you read the news, it's hard to escape the hard reality that an awful lot of things are very, very wrong. People are cruel and selfish. Disasters happen — sometimes due to human greed and stupidity.
   
   Dealing with it: Realize that this is not new. It's been going on forever. And it bothers me a lot less if I guard my health (see item #2) and try to make the world a little better, even in limited ways.
   

   Words Worth Posting on Your Fridge: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." — Margaret Mead, Anthropologist

2. Physical Depression. It runs in my family. At least I'm lucky because I only get seasonal depression, the winter blues... and occasionally a miserable feeling caused by allergy to molds. (I wrote about the latter in 2006.)
   
   Dealing with it: I've been around long enough to anticipate winter blues and seek sunlight at just about every chance. I avoid molds (including yeasts) as much as possible. And when I fail at doing so, I remind myself that the resulting melancholy is temporary.


3. Aging and the Inevitable. Yep, we get older and we die. No doubt about it. Some people that I regarded as contemporaries have died. It's sad and it's a reminder of how short life can be.
   
   Dealing with it: Enjoy life while you can! Post a list of ways to enrich your life. It doesn't have to be an ambitious "bucket list." It can be a list of places you want to go within the next month or two, as simple as a local gallery or a concert. And put on some music, wear your favorite colors, seek out friends, and make time for the ordinary things you enjoy.
   

   "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." — John Lennon