Look at the Birds of the Air. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your Supreme Creator feeds them.
~Jesus of Nazareth
A nurse practitioner friend recently confided that she was battling a case of the blahs, unable to find much joy in anything. When I pressed for a possible cause, she responded, “I’m not sure, but I think it’s a combination of things. There is so much violence in the world. Daily reports of random shootings. War in Ukraine. Our country is so divided. The uptick of COVID patients I’m seeing.”
Does my friend’s list sound familiar? It did to me. No question, there is a lot to feel depressed about!
Shortly after this conversation, I read a helpful article** by the well-known author and psychologist, Mary Pipher, entitled “How I Build a good day when I’m full of despair at the world.” Pipher describes the feelings my friend named as similar to “walking through sludge,” and suggests that it’s the most compassionate among us who are the most susceptible to these emotional states.
Pipher then shares some ways she manages to “build a good day” in spite of the “sludge.” The one that resonated most with me was this: Take time to enjoy your morning coffee or tea. Leave reading or watching the news for later. Step outside; enjoy the beauty of your surroundings. Take note of the butterflies, the squirrels, and the birds. I’m fortunate to have a spouse who feeds birds, so I’m able to watch them jostle for position during the morning rush to dine. The multiple-colored grosbeaks cluster around the sunflower seeds as the finches and pine siskins prefer the thistle feeder. It’s a busy time for the birds, but for me an opportunity to relax and simply be present in the moment, forgetting the cares of the world.
Join me in finding ways to build a good day—even in the midst of despair.
Warm regards,
Rebecca Hauder BSN, M.Ed.