Blue

Do you ever feel a little bit blue? Like life is hitting you with one too many punches, one too many lemons?

Whenever I start feeling bad about things, whatever I’m in the middle of tackling, I try to stop myself and think about the all the good. I think much of that blue feeling originates in perspective.

What may seem hard for me in my life, might seem like a dream come true for someone else. I have to remember this, how fortunate we are.

I am blessed.

I am lucky.

I am smart.

I am gifted.

I am powerful.

I am worthy.

I am a fighter

and I am grateful.

I don’t know where I learned it, if someone taught me, or if this is something we all have, but I talk to myself like this whenever I feel blue. I think about what I have, and begin to run these phrases in my mind rather than listening to negative ones.

So much of my emotional state effects my writing.

I’m not saying I need to be happy all the time. I don’t think that’s realistic. Moments of defeat are normal. Accepting defeat and knowing how to handle it is drastically different than allowing defeat to consume you. And its interesting to me how my emotional state brings about different facets to the characters I create.

I’ve found when I’m blue, I’m more sensitive to what my characters are going through. I guess that would be considered empathy (and I’m not sure how that correlates with a happy life, as being blue just to write is probably not the best thing, and probably why many writers battle addictions), but understanding why your characters do the things they do is hugely important in getting to the truth.

Humility is another. This word – so important. I think a good dose of humility triggers better thoughts too.

I guess what I’m saying is being blue isn’t always necessarily a bad thing. Feeling alone and empty once in awhile helps us see and recognize the light, when it enters, and how to be more protective of it.

When is the last time you felt blue?  What did you learn from it, and what are some things you did to let the warmth in?

We need to let the warmth in, after the blue.

x and tales,

AEJ