Mindful gymnastics

Good morning, here we are it's the weekend again and I am listening to Sounds of the Sixties on Radio 2. It's sunny outside, so maybe a good day to go out. Sixties music always makes me feel happy, a little bit of jigging and dancing, ha ha. 

A question arrived in a comment, which I will answer now. 

Another question for you ( maybe you've written about it before, I'll check). You have such a great outlook, but even those with a cheery disposition have an occasional glum day. How do you lift yourself up, if one decides to come your way?

Hello bloggerette, and thanks for the question. I'm trying to think of the last time I had a glum day, there's not much that upsets me. There was a situation that was making me anxious and glum and sad all at the same time. It lasted a period of about two years, and I had little control over what was happening. Things have now been resolved and I am back to happy. I can't talk about the circumstances, but it was the actions of other people which was making me glum. All will be revealed when the time is right. Sorry if that sounds like a riddle. 

How did I deal with it? I learnt how to switch on and off. I got on with my life, keeping busy, distraction is a great way to blot out things. Siting around procrastinating is not going to resolve matters. All it does is make a little niggle into a great big festering hole. I cannot change how other people behave but I can change how I deal with it. 

I believe that all things will pass, they can hang around forever if you let them, or you can give them an almighty shove and move on. Now before anyone wants to shoot me down and say what about all the people with depression and suchlike, I am talking about how I deal with things. I know nothing about mental illness. 

I am really struggling to think about one reason why I should be glum, there is one niggle that comes to mind. I am getting older, and my time on this earth is limited :o( it's not fair, I have so much I want to do, but there's nothing I can do about that, so best to get on and make the most of the time I have left. My life is precious to me, I have to make it the best I can.  

Over the years I have learnt to build a wall of protection around myself to limit what gets through, I decide what I will allow in. I find that glumness rarely visits now, what have I got to be glum about, practically nothing. I have good health, live in a nice place, and have nice friends. 

I don't believe in worrying over small piffling little things that are not important. I sort things out in order of how much it will affect my quality of life. I put my thoughts in boxes, file them away if they are important enough to keep, jettison them into oblivion if they are not worthy of the space in my brain. I take things in my stride, if things go wrong I deal with it, or ignore it, depending on how it will affect me long term. 

Things and stuff are just that, possessions are things we collect as we pass through this life. We don't own them we just borrow them. These would come into my category of piffling little things that are not important. The way I communicate with other living beings is a completely different kettle of fish for me. My quality of life would be severely inhibited if I did not treat people in the same way as I expect to be treated myself. Saying that, it pains me to think that someone can be nasty towards me, when I don't understand why. But then I go back to the thought that I can't change how someone behaves, but I can change how I deal with it. Hope that makes sense. 

I think that how to deal with what life throws at you, is something that can be learnt. The mind can be trained in the same way as the body can, it's all connected. I often say, 'So what, it doesn't matter.'

Hope that explains it a bit, or has it baffled you. Bet you wished you'd never asked, ha ha.  Enjoy your Saturday. 

Toodle pip.

PS. I am still missing two addresses. Primroses Attic, and Aussie Cheryl, your bags are ready to be posted to you.