So how do you make it through a crappy day?
My day started out with me finding out the guy I had been dating is a lying manwhore. It really couldn't get much worse from that point on.
So what do you do when your day, your week….maybe the last several months have sucked? And sucked HARD?
Well, I can tell you what I do. No stupid platitudes…no "buck up little camper"….
I connect with friends. That connection…that conversation…can always be an important touchstone that grounds me in hope. So I make that call, send that IM chat message. It works.
I spend some time with my 2 cats. Two innocent, sweet, loving creatures that depend on me for everything they have. That innocence, that simplicity of needs, that unconditional love…it reminds me that I have responsibilities to stay focused on the now and stay grounded in my responsibilities to them and everyone else. I all need to do is pick one of them up and hold them to my chest, listen to their deep purring and feel their rapid heartbeat. That moment is priceless.
I take a hot bath with a good, mindless book. Nothing too mentally strenuous, but a good fictional story that takes me out of my current situation and lets me escape for a moment. Relaxing in a hot tub with a good book. It works every time. I have a library of books that I turn to in hard times. "In Tune with the Infinite" by Ralph Waldo Trine, anything by Ernest Holmes or Neale Donald Walsch.
I also have some songs on my iPod that are my happy songs. "Stoned Love' by the Supremes, "Love Grows" by Edison Lighthouse, "Justified and Ancient" by KLF, "Downtown" by Petula Clark,….I love my music therapy and happy tunes can definitely help my attitude.
I also have some other DVDs that are guaranteed to lift my spirits…."Three Coins in the Fountain", multiple Laurel and Hardy DVDs, "Hellboy" (okay, I LOVE the line "Sometimes all we freaks have is each other."), "Before Sunrise", "Drop Dead Gorgeous", the anime series "Cowboy Bebop"…. to just name a few. I would strongly recommend having a library of films that make you feel good. It doesn’t matter what kind of film they are. All that matters is that they make you smile, laugh, or feel good about life or yourself.
And lastly, "The List". It is a list of reasons to live. A list of goals, things I want to achieve, friends I have, dreams I want to come true….learning to ride a motorcycle, swimming on a beach in Costa Rica, living in San Francisco, having a loving and devoted partner, having 2 cats who love and adore me….you get the idea.
So when I have a particularly shitty day, week, month…or year (like this one)… I turn to these life preservers. Sometimes they only keep my head above water. But having my head just above water is much better than slowly sinking to the depths of darkness.
