Fight Back Against the Winter Doldrums!

                                                                         
          It’s often been speculated that February was the month when most suicides are committed. Now, that’s a cheerful thought – not! While it has been shown statistically that this isn’t true (with most suicides occurring in the spring), there does seem to be increased levels of depression, especially among senior citizens, during the winter months. I’m not a researcher in this subject, and perhaps I’m only using my own straw poll to make that assessment.

          The holidays are over, no more abundant visits with friends coupled with excessive food and drink. It’s back to the grind at work, and exercise and veggies. No more almond roca until your teeth hurt or a glass of wine every night instead of once in awhile. It’s grey outside and the weather often keeps us cooped up for days on end. In fact, during this month we tend to eat and drink more than in previous months and sleep lots more, all of which can escalate depression.

          All the trees are bare and our yards, be they tiny patios like mine or expansive yards enjoyed by the myriad kids, grandkids and pets, are bleak. I have a lovely gingko tree that I planted a few years back, and it gives me great joy as I gaze upon it from my living room. However, practically overnight, all its leaves are gone. The Japanese maples start thinning out and by this time, they are looking pretty twiggy and lifeless. The chilling weather and the lack of pleasing visual surroundings are pervasive on our psyche. I believe the shorter grey days create a physiological response in our bodies during this time of year. It can wear on the upbeat approach to life making everything seem less exciting and less worth endeavoring. It’s hitting the snooze button magnified 1,000 percent.

          What to do? You can bet I’m going to say meditating should be at the top of any list of possible remedies to the winter doldrums. Let’s face it, meditating is easy to do, cheap and doesn’t take a lot of time. It’s the perfect panacea to much of what ails us in life, be you a senior citizen or not.

          There are lots of other things one can do to fight back the lethargy and depression of dark winter months. Some of these items are costly and time consuming and others, like meditation, are not.

Must We Always Act Our Age?

          I look to the future because that's where I'm going to spend the rest of my life. George Burns
         


          Age is a state of mind. If that is true, must we always act our age? I don't think so!

          “What? Didn’t she just go over this age thing a couple of weeks ago?”

          Yes, I was thrilled to celebrate my 65^th birthday earlier this month. I spoke of sharing the birth date with Martin Luther King and shifting my ‘Use by…’ date to 81 years old. But I didn’t talk about how our attitudes about getting older age us. I didn’t talk about those little habits of things we say and do that scoot us into walkers much faster than necessary.

          The Handbook of Religion and Health by Koenig, et al, indicates that people who have a regular religious attendance or practice live, on average, 7 years longer than those who don’t. There are things we can do to make the best use of those extra years.

          I was pleased last fall to attend a workshop at the Center for Spiritual Living . The speaker was Rev. Chris Michaels from the Kansas City Center for Spiritual Living.  Our two Centers are closely aligned and  Rev. Chris visits us often. He sometimes travels with us to foreign countries when our Center organizes spiritual excursions to places like Bali. I have spent some time with him on one of these trips and he is a cool guy. He tells it like he sees it and people listen because he’s right on. He is not even close to being a senior citizen but he isn’t a young pup either.

          A friend and I attended his workshop entitled “Aging as a Spiritual Practice” and found Chris’ perceptions and his take on how our ways of thinking can age us faster than the clock. Chris points out that our spirits are the true essence of who we are, not our bodies. Spirit is ageless, timeless and deathless. Yet we continually remind ourselves and others that we are becoming more limited physically and/or mentally as time goes on. How many times have you said, as I have, “Oh, I forgot that because I’m having a senior moment,” or “I used to be able to do that longer…or faster…or better….”? How often do we buy into a youthful society’s message that says if you’re over 30 you’re not worth very much? We’re the first people to limit ourselves by believing and integrating these attitudes as we get older.

          Yes, our bodies are flesh that does deteriorate over time, but there’s nothing more limiting than