Sad for No Reason ebookGoing outside
Life has been hectic, overwhelming, depressing, maddening, lovely, beautiful, and blessed. Amidst it all, I became inspired by my friend Centria to actually go outside during winter. I used to be an outdoors girl. I could hike all day with a 50 pound backpack when I was 19. But now, in the middle of all my domestic worries, I rarely even walk my dogs anymore.
So this weekend, I decided to take our tiny miniature pincer out to the dog park. Since it was nice outside – that is, not snowing, raining, hailing, or freezing – there were a lot of people with the same idea that day. We met a lot of big dogs who intimidated our tiny one. But in a moment of serendipity, I got my camera ready just in time for the unplanned meeting of two dogs of the same breed, in the same color sweater. I really never expected this good fortune. They looked, during the moment I snapped the picture, like they belonged together, like they called each other up in the morning and asked, “what are you wearing today?” “Let’s be twins!” Mine has the leash and the sweater that says, “Tease.”
It is easy to let yourself be down, especially in winter. Sometimes all it takes to perk us up is a little trip outdoors. You know, your body makes vitamin D with as little as 15 minutes of exposure to the sunshine. Vitamin D helps all systems in the body to fight off disease and bad moods.
And plus, I found a rainbow and didn’t even know it until I saw this shot on my computer. Look. A rainbow in the mud at the bottom of the picture. I used to live in both Seattle and Honolulu, and both places are rich with rainbows. It rains a lot, but there is usually a reward for suffering through the rain if you just look up. Here in my photo, the amazing thing is you see the rainbow in the muck. The muck of our lives, if we just keep on going through it, can actually bring us rainbows if we only look for them.
Okay, enough philosophizing for today! Just step outside, and see what you can see.
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December 31st, 2008 at 12:13 am
When I first looked at the picture, I thought the two dogs belonged together. I guess they did. On that day in that moment, they belonged together.
In the second photo, my eyes were immediately drawn to the rainbow sunspots and then the reason for the photo-the rainbow in the mud. We can all learn from these two beautiful photos.
There is always beauty in our lives, even when we are stuck in the mud. We just have to look for the rainbow.
December 31st, 2008 at 4:56 pm
What a good photo op! You had your camera ready at just the right moment to capture the dogs. I am very very impressed. Also with the fact you went outside to play. Excellent! It does feel good, doesn’t it? I also like your rainbow in the mud. I suspect there’s lots of rainbows in mud, if we but look. Glad to be a source of inspiration
January 2nd, 2009 at 9:55 pm
Mckay:
Wow, I’m glad you liked the photos! You summarized it better than I could: There is always beauty in our lives, even when we are stuck in the mud!
Centria:
Yes, it does feel good to get outside. There probably are more rainbows in the mud of my life than I ever noticed! It’s time to start looking, now that it’s a new year.
January 4th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
January 4th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
You’re in for a treat, Kim, because I’m working on an ebook to address the hidden causes of depression. My mother’s been clinically depressed for as long as I can remember. I hope to finish this month!
January 6th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
Hi Jessica, there is a gift waiting for you on my blog, please visit http://inspired-journey.blogspot.com