“Bad Moods?” Blog #200
Am I really ruled by these feelings inside of me?
Do I wake up to a new morning feeling depressed?
Can I find a way to stop being in a bad mood so often?
It’s important to understand my mind must be ruled by good, healthy, clean thoughts.
Discouragement, anger and self pity have got to go now! There is no place for bad
feelings in any part of my life. Taking a minute now, I see nowhere do I benefit from dark
thoughts, negative thinking and a bad mood. Not possible to sit here with a Pollyanna
approach and believe I can always stay uplifted. However, dark times of depressing
thoughts must be put to bay and only randomly occur. There is far too much to be
thankful for that outweighs negativity. Besides, the brain is very tricky, once I start thinking
depressing thoughts, they reoccur and come back with a vengeance! I can play a game
with myself and say there is always time to think about that “depressing thought later”.
Now I will START to “TRAIN MY BRAIN’’ to be in the positive.
When I go to Yoga Class I notice I gravitate over to sit by the one lady who is always
smiling. Not only does she have a wonderful look on her face, but when I speak to her, all
of her energy invites me in. There is plenty of time later to revisit the part of my life that is
worrisome. So just for today, I avoid this like the plague.
There was a famous movie years ago, actually one of my favorite movies of all time,
“Gone with the Wind”. The movie is about a beautiful young woman raised in the heart of
a Golden Age long gone by. A golden age of wealth and massive plantations and plenty.
The movie opens to a scene with Scarlett O’Hara preparing for a fabulous garden party,
oblivious to poverty and darkness and dread. For this movie is set on the back drop of the
beginning of the Civil War. The plantations are fabulous, the Southern Gentry is steep in
tradition and the slaves are everywhere doing the white man’s bidding. Sadly, the Civil
War takes it toll quickly on Scarlett, for she watches in horror as her own homestead is
ripped apart, her family dying and scattered and the love of her life is gone to war, yet and
not even in love with her! Bringing this movie to the forefront shows the unbearable pain,
misery and suffering heaped upon Scarlett. No sooner deals with one problem and a
greater one is set before her. However, as more persistent problems try to destroy
Scarlett’s life, a remarkable awareness comes into being. Scarlett faces the hardships of
war, head on. Horrific problems she encounters over and over again. Yet, they begin to
shape her character and visibly force her to make difficult honest decisions. The part of
the movie that’s stuck with me for fifty years is this, Scarlett does have pain, and darkness
and sadness all around her. Just like you and me. However, she FACES HER PAIN HEAD ON.
THEN SHE GOES ON. Internally,
“I go forward, there is no other way”.
When she realizes at the end of the movie who the love of her life truly is, he leaves her! Do
you know what Scarlett says as the movie is ending? (regarding all her pain)
“I will think about it tomorrow….After all tomorrow is another day.”
Knowing that I can tell my brain anything I want to, this is how I will deal with depression
and sadness and darkness. I will NOT think about it today. Just for today I will stay positive.
Putting my mind in a different direction; I say now, “Thank you Jesus for your help. Keep
me strong, spiritually connected to you, affirm your light is on me”.
It’s easier than one expects to redirect the mind into a different place - the awkward part
is we are used to that sneaky energy seeming to worry and depress our mind. Keeps us
stuck - it “appears hard to do” but it is not. In a breath, switch my mind. In a breath I get
up and go do something different, In a breath I open the door and invite in the fresh air
with deep breaths throughout my person. In those 60- 80,000 thoughts I think each day, I
bring in more optimistic thoughts. I feel so much stronger now. For I AM the ONLY ONE in a
position to do this for the “inner me”.
Will I take this moment and remove bad moods with Jesus help now?
NOW LISTEN TO SONG FOR TODAY - CLICK PLAY BUTTON IN VIDEO BELOW