Seasons
February 12, 2024
Seasons come right when you need them to,
And each one is my favorite each time.
You must know winter to love spring,
Then shortly into spring you want to spring ahead to summer.
I love each season,
Until I don't.
So lately, I've been learning to savor.
The rain falls down,
But I'm reminded that I love the sound.
And I sleep in peace knowing
That tonight I smell wet pavement,
But tomorrow I'll smell flowers.
And I enjoy both!
I love the sun on my skin, until it burns.
But I love the feeling of rain the most.
-a poem of mine from March 2022
As I spent this week studying for exams in a cold cafe, I felt stressed, unmotivated, and utterly exhausted. I found myself wishing the days away. February has notoriously been my least favorite month. The holidays are fully over, any motivation I had in January fizzles out, the weather is generally bad, it's flu season, my skin is at peak paleness, etc. My seasonal depression hits hard. Whoever decided to make February the shortest month of the year must have felt the same way. There's just a chronic tiredness that comes with this dreary month.
I've noticed that when I'm feeling down, I try to Band-Aid it with consuming. By buying myself a "little treat", by scrolling on TikTok for hours on end, by turning on music just so I don't have to hear myself think. We all do it! My sweet friend Liana and I were talking about it yesterday; how we look to be filled up by little things that aren't truly satisfying us, and how it just makes us want more and more. I'm not saying consumption is inherently bad, but on its own, it's not fulfilling.
I believe we were created to create, and as I'm sitting here in the bleak midwinter, I find that the only things truly cheering me up are creating and enjoying creation.
Maybe you love February! I can catch glimpses of why. I love the contrast of sunny days dispersed between gray ones. The reds and pinks and hearts and flowers are a mood booster for sure. Maybe you have many things to celebrate this month. Maybe you are not prone to anxiety or seasonal depression. Or maybe, like me, you are and need some encouragement. So, I thought I'd take today to share a few things I like doing to cheer myself up. (*que My Favorite Things by Julie Andrews) I hope this list can give some inspiration:
Bake a cake, decorated it, and invite people to come eat it with you
Run (or walk) in the rain
Write a poem (even if it's silly)
Build a fort and watch a movie
Buy yourself (or someone else) flowers
Get up before dawn, make yourself a good cup of coffee, and go watch a sunrise
Make someone dinner
Take a last-minute road trip (bonus points if it's to hot springs!!)
Make a playlist with nostalgic music (I've been switching between 70's country and 2010's pop hits this week)
Grab someone you love and go on a night walk
Read a book or watch a series in one sitting
Just dance!!
Rearrange a room, a drawer, whatever
Make a s'more (or a Redvine straw, or any treat you had as a kid)
Do something someone you miss would enjoy (When I miss my grandpa, I have a hazelnut latte and go to the driving range; when I miss my best friend, I have nachos and watch Nacho Libre)
Do a puzzle with your friends
Paint something
Wear something bright (or paint your nails bright, happy colors)
Go play! (pick up a basketball and shoot, grab a deck of cards, kick around a soccer ball, do the New York Times mini crossword, learn how to play chess, etc.)
Make a joyful noise (sing, laugh, shout, cheer!!)
Of course, what's fun for me might not be fun for you. But the moral of the story is: instead of consuming, try creating, celebrating, serving, and admiring. And don't lose hope! It's simply a season.
For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance...
Ecclesiastes 3:1-4
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