“Drag your thoughts away from your troubles… by the ears, by the heels, or any other way you can manage it.” ~Mark Twain

Our emotions are driven by our thoughts. In any moment, we can choose to focus on things, people, and places that evoke happiness and joy or on those that settle in sadness and fear. Certainly, when we are in the throes of an extreme negative emotion, we can’t easily jump directly to joy. But, we can change our focus or choose to feel hopeful, believing that “this, too, shall pass.”

I struggle with seasonal melancholy. Perhaps “struggle” is too strong of a word. I wrestle with seasonal melancholy. Mid-winter brings lethargy, lack of creative drive. My preferred winter sport is lying on the couch watching TV. Just as fears are fed in the middle of the night, dwindling daylight nourishes negativity and despair. My scanty full-spectrum sun-lamp is the only one laughing.

By February, my acorn-storage of Vitamin D is deficient. Inspiration has waned to the point of extinction. Smiles are forced. Writing’s a chore. I fear this is a permanent condition. I question the big picture. Why am I here? Where am I going? Shouldn’t I be farther along by now? Where did I leave my passion? My inspiration? My ideas? My excitement? I must’ve mailed them off with the Christmas presents. Shouldn’t they have been returned by now?

Come March, as winter tips toward spring, I begin to “drag my thoughts away from my troubles.” I combat this seasonal kryptonite with bullets:

• Exercise
• Plan a garden
• Focus on the crocus
• Reclaim my three-season porch
• Watch for lime-green baby buds on bushes
• and, if I’m fortunate, take a quick trip to the tropics.
  Watch how your thoughts lighten up and stay around longer like the arc of the sun passing through the spring equinox.

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