Turning Darkness into Light

Ah, Fall...the weather turns crisp, the leaves begin to change color, the nights are cool and for some of us it's a time of new beginnings. I always think of Fall as the beginning of a new year. I'm sure this comes from when I was a kid and school started in September. I would get new clothes, shiny new school supplies and a new teacher. I'd learn new subjects and meet new friends. I loved it. For me Fall was like the line from that old Simon and Garfunkle song, "..kicking down the cobble stones and feeling groovy..." I would walk home from school kicking up the fallen leaves and feeling, well, groovy...life was indeed, good.

But now that I'm a little older, okay, a lot older, I don't have quite the same great feeling about Fall as I did then. As an adult, Fall does not automatically announce new beginnings. Mostly what it announces is the start of darkness - I know that sounds pretty ominous but what I have found is that it's the lack of light that causes all the trouble. You see in the summer we get an average of about 13 hours of daily sunlight available to us - if we get up at 7am and it doesn't get dark until 8pm - that's thirteen hours of sunlight, but in the winter with Day Light Savings time we get about four hours less because by 5pm it's pretty dark. This causes some of us to get the blues - the winter blues.

So what does this have to do with calling? Well, if one is down in the dumps and feeling like a bear wanting to hibernate it's hard to think about, much less do anything about our calling. What we have to do is take action to keep our momentum from the summer months. I have come up with some ideas to keep us upbeat and positive and therefore open to our calling.

Light Therapy - If, like me you think lack of light is a problem for you then build or buy yourself a light therapy box. There are many sources available on the Internet - just put SAD light therapy in your browser and go from there.

For Stress Relief - Use Breathing as a way to release the stress. Take a deep breath – in fact take 5-10 separate deep breaths and as you take each one hold it in to the count of ten and let it out slowly.

Meditate – People who meditate tend to be more positive/serene that those who don’t.

Re-Frame your situation – tell yourself “This too shall pass.” Or marshal evidence that your pessimistic thoughts are just that, you thinking the worst – re-frame it to you thinking the best.

Visualize what you really want in this situation – if you can, find a picture and post it near you with the new way you want things.

Distract yourself – go do something else – do a mindless chore or simply take a break - read a really good book that is uplifting or funny or that takes you to a better place.

Create a Joy Basket – put all kinds of things in it such as quotes that inspire you, books that are uplifting, a list of activities you like to do, some chocolate, a tea bag to remind yourself to make yourself a cup of tea. Pictures of loved ones or things that you love such as the ocean or the mountains or your favorite animal.

Go for a walk in nature.

Remember some good news even if it was a long time ago – try to get that feeling back when you did something you really loved doing or something special you accomplished.

Call a friend and ask them what good thing has happened to them lately – joy is contagious but so is negativity – no pity parties.

Go to a funny or romantic or action movie – go with a friend or go alone – enjoy your independence.

Wear a rubber band around your wrist and when you start the negative self talk snap it back – this will snap you back into your true self which is always positive and seeking authentic happiness.

Give thanks everyday for the good in your life – do the Three Blessings Exercise by writing down in a journal or little notebook what you felt blessed with that day.

Pay attention to your dreams and write down in a little notebook any ones that seem related to your calling.

Use the winter months to grow and heal. If you don't feel this is the time to actually answer your soul's call then begin a program to heal old wounds and clean out any psychic closets that are filled with oudated ideas, old beliefs that no longer work or anything esle that limits you.

Learn something new - as we did in our school years - something related to our calling. For example, since writing is my calling I am using this winter to learn everything I can about book publishing so that in the Spring when my book is finished I'll be ready for the next steps in the process.

With these ideas we can turn a potentially dark time into a time of light and energy, maybe not the same energy some of us have in Spring and Summer but productive energy none the less. Let me know how you do with these and if you have others you'd like to share, I'd love to learn about them.

Blessings, Lorraine