Life’s too Short to be Depressed!

The way I look at it, life is an opportunity. You can do with it, as you will. There are lessons to be learned but there is also free will. Your life is a weave, unique from any others but somehow the same. Individual lessons will keep presenting themselves until you work them through. The problem is that from time to time you can get trapped in a dark corner and decide to stay for a while. Some stay forever!
Thank goodness for the springtime or what ever you can grab on to, to help pull yourself out. Here are some simple steps that can empower you to shake it off and look at the glass half full: 

1. Stretch your facial muscles while looking in the mirror. Come up with as many funny faces as you can (check out the links). Try not to laugh (Yeah right). Tense facial muscles can make you look older than your years. You will be surprised how much tension is held in the face. This exercise lightens up the day and helps you not take life so seriously.
   
2. Make a mental list of simple things that bring you joy and decide to do at least one of them each day. Like: Taking a walk in the sunshine; Getting some colorful flowers and place them where you can see and smell them throughout the day; Plant some seeds and nurture them as they grow; Surround yourself with pictures that make you smile. (That's a good one!)
   
3. Jump around and spar a little as you think of the things you are going to tackle today. (This one's fun to do with the kids.) You can become lethargic when your down, so intentionally moving around really helps. Take whatever negative feeling you have at the moment and shake it off! Exhale it out of your lungs. In with the good, out with the bad.
   
4. Do some basic body stretching. Don't forget to rotate all your joints. This releases trapped energy and makes it easier to take on what ever the day may bring.
   

Some of this may sound silly and too simple, but that's exactly the point! It doesn't always have to be a complicated undertaking to pull your self out of depression. You can choose to do something right now. Hell, just dancing around to your favorite song and laughing at yourself can do the trick. Don't take yourself so seriously. Look! Your up, you're breathing and your going to get through another day! It's up to you to decide if you want to be in the dumps all day or you want to embrace life and this beautiful world while you're here. What's the worse that can happen? Death? There, I said it. Death, the permanent termination of the biological functions that define a living organism. Well guess what, we are all going to die and you'll probably have to deal with that journey just as you're dealing with today, making choices. So choose how you want spend this day or better yet, how you want to spend your life. Get up and love the earth, love yourself and those around you. Do something fun every day! You don't have to wait for springtime. Life's too short to choose to spend it in that dark corner.
Happy Earth Day!