Gray Skies and Winter Blues
As I realize these winter blues are sitting with me for a while, I have come to realize they are not the enemy. They are an emotion I have ignored. They are trying to tell me something and I am not listening. Well, who would want to listen to the winter blues anyways? Feeling blue is an emotion just like all the other emotions and if we do not sit with it, sit and listen to what it has to tell us, well then it will grow until it becomes this monster that we cannot ignore. It will consume us.
I have dealt with seasonal depression for years. When my grandparents passed, they were the holidays for me growing up, well it got even harder. I have grief, pain, heartbreak, so many emotions bubbling up. I felt I was a ticking bomb. I never knew who I would go off on, on any given day. I shoved those emotions down hard. Who wanted to deal with me in a sad state? People always wanted me upbeat so that is what they saw, but in reality, I ignored all the emotions, and then they fell on me like a boulder, and I have no choice but to sit with them and listen.
Emotions are part of our dreary winter, they are part of our daily life, and they may be filled with gray skies, but in reality, perhaps those skies are stunning and our blues do not let us see them clearly. They also limit what we think we can do. We believe we are doom and gloom and hideaway, but if we sit with the emotions like we do with a friend, and listen with an open heart, well then we may make friends with all the emotions we are feeling.
Next time we are feeling all gloom and doom maybe we need to say hello to those emotions. Offer them a cup of proverbial tea and ask them to take a seat. Yes! do not push them away, welcome them and talk with them. See all the emotions you are dealing with as a welcome friend. Hello grief, hello anxiety, hello fear. Sit and just listen to them. They have something to tell you. Some wisdom to pass on to you. If you open yourself up to hearing all they have to say, you will grow as a person. You will be of benefit to others. If we keep ourselves closed off we may never get hurt, but what kind of life is that?
Feelings, emotions, thoughts, all of it are sometimes painful to listen to, but with an open heart, being vulnerable, and just letting them in, well then perhaps you will grow, you will know all of you. Let me also suggest that you may also love all of you. When you are open, honest, and vulnerable with yourself, you can then and only then be there for someone else and may just guide them through the winter blues yourself.
Listen, learn, and grow. That is my wish for you. Make friends with every part of you. Even the gray winter skies. Offer them a seat at your table and discuss ALL of you!
Photo by Kelly Sikkema
Words by me.
Until we meet again, make friends with yourself and let me know how it is going.
Thank you,
your friend,
Debbie
xoxoxox
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