I never used to be a naturally grumpy person.
But as I’ve got older (and busier) I sometimes find myself slipping into grumpiness. I do like a good rant occasionally, and I can be easily irritated by things beyond my control that I should just let wash over me. More seriously I’ve struggled with depression and anxiety for much of my life which is worse at some times than others, and I can let anxiety and paranoia ruin what should be amazing experiences, and stop me doing things.
When things are stressful and grumpiness starts to take over I find it useful to stop and think about the things that make me happy (and maybe go do one of them if things get too bad). If you read my blog regularly you probably know quite a bit about me, but apart from a few of you that I’ve met I know very little about you. So seeing as the sun is shining today, at least it is where I am, which is in a hotel that made me VERY grumpy yesterday by leaving a hair in my blue cheese mushrooms, I want you to tell me what makes you happy.
Without coming over all Pollyanna, I’ll start with some little things that make me happy at the moment.
Spring Flowers
Ok, so maybe that’s a bit Pollyanna, but having spring flowers in my house makes me smile. My vases are still in storage so at the moment I’m keeping them in jam jars and highball glasses, but they are still beautiful. And cheap.
Running
Sometimes it makes me stressed, as I feel I should have been more often, or guilty when I skip a planned run. Mostly, though, it makes me happy. Running on a sunny but cool day, especially in the countryside when I can hear birds singing, or look out over the lake where I run sometimes at such an amazing view. It also makes me happy in a more abstract way, because I stuck at it and less than a year ago I couldn’t keep up a running pace for more than 2 minutes, and now I can run 6 miles on an Easter Sunday with orange hair and then go home and eat chocolate.
Ā Pretty Packaging
I once got called shallow for mentioning a lipstick packaging in one of my lipstick reviews, but beautifully packaged things make me feel special when I use them so if that makes me shallow, so be it. I have just bought myself a Besame Violet Brightening Powder (which I plan to review next week!) that comes in beautiful packaging, and everytime I do my make up it makes me smile. I also got sent some tea samples from a company called We Are Tea that came in a lovely matte black box with individually packaged tea bags and when I use them it feels far more special than just dragging a bag of dust out of a foil bag, one of them was also called Serenitea and that also makes me happy. I like to serve my drinks in pretty glasses and eat my dinner off of pretty plates, just call me the Queen of Shallow (actually lets go with Princess because it sounds nicer, see, shallow.)
Moments of calm
This last one is a little abstract, it’s those little moments when you stop, even if just for a second. It’s seeing a rabbit or a deer by the side of the road on a long car journey (alive! It has been pointed out to me on proof reading that this sounds like I enjoy seeing roadkill). Sitting in bed in the morning with a cup of coffee and listening to the birds singing outside. Going to bed early with a hot chocolate and a book when you’re really tired. Sitting on a bench waiting for someone before a meeting and noticing the shadows on the ground. One of the techniques they teach for anxiety is being “in the moment” and I guess that’s part of this. Just for a bit you’re not worrying about deadlines or money or any of the other things that fill our heads, but really paying attention to the world. The picture is a pheasant I saw at a Motorway service station, it made me happy.
So there you have it, possibly the soppiest post I’ve ever written! Now it’s your turn, don’t make me be soppy on my own people!
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