S.A.D.

Seasonal Affective Disorder, folks. It's the real deal. People may try to chalk it up to an urban myth or weakling city people explaining their issues (partially true, I'll admit), but take it from Mr. Happy-Go-Lucky himself: winter in the city can get you down. Wikipedia defines it this way: "also known as winter depression or winter blues, a mood disorder in which people who have normal mental health throughout most of the year experience depressive symptons in the winter." I've seen it displayed all around me, people breaking down every other day at school. Heck, I even had a breakdown of my own the other day, just chattin' with my Acting teacher. I've spent the last couple of weeks dreaming about summer by the lake, or beachside vacations in Aruba (those dang advertisements in the subway are taunting me!)

Yet something awesome happened today. The sun came out. It was warm! People were shedding their jackets, smiles were all around- a stroll through the park seemed unavoidable. So my friend, Lauren and I did just that. All around the snow was beginning to melt away, running in little rivers through the park, washing away all that cold and wet to make room for the warm and breezy. Really. It was cool.

And kinda metaphorical, you gotta admit. I mean come on- it's just begging to be used as a metaphor! So here you go: Sometimes it is cold. Sometimes it's grey and cloudy and it seems like it will go on forever. But it won't. The sun will always come back out! And it will be that much more kick-awesome when it does.

However here's a slightly-less cliche response: S.A.D. or any other kind of mood disorder may get ahold of you. And it may be tough to shake. Sometimes it will probably get the better of you. But you can still always choose to be stronger than it every day. Look at what you've got to be thankful for. Count to ten every time you get upset, breathing deeply (AADA will be proud of your proper breath!). Do something- recently Julie and I joined a Growth Group with a church here and got to spend Saturday morning helping give a good meal to people in the city who needed it. It was awesome! And I would challenge you to feel sorry for yourself for a single minute while you're giving meals to the people of this city. More times than not, your 'disorder' will have to give in to the power of positivity.

Will it always be easy, something you can shrug off? Heck no. Trust me. It's tough sometimes. I know. But then the sun will come back out. (I can't help it. I love those cliche metaphors.) :)