How do you pull yourself out of the gloom?

Feeling mad, bad and sad? Read on.

Photo by Nik on Unsplash

"Keep your face always toward the sunshine, and shadows will fall behind you." Walt Whitman

I was rather gloomy over the weekend—a combination of hormones, the weather, and some dating drama.

Plus, my son has gone back to university, and I miss him.

I felt sad and out of sorts. I chatted at length with a friend; she was equally gloomy but with a different set of challenges.

We agreed that it’s okay to feel gloomy, but we needed to nurture ourselves with good soup, good books, and electric blankets.

Plus, reach for thoughts that might give us something to hang on to while we ride the bumpy bits.

Just in case anyone else is feeling a bit gloomy today, remember you’re not alone. Reach out to a friend, talk about it with someone, and let’s hang on to each other and keep our faces towards the sunshine until we feel a bit better.

Here are some quotations to hang on to.

1. “You do not find a happy life. You make it.” Camilla Eyring Kimball

2. “Any fool can be happy. It takes a man with a real heart to make beauty out of the stuff that makes us weep.” Clive Barker

3. “We’re taught to be ashamed of confusion, anger, fear, and sadness, and to me, they’re of equal value to happiness, excitement, and inspiration.” Alanis Morrisette

4. “You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” Maya Angelou

5. “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” Mark Twain

6. “You don’t have to see the whole staircase; just take the first step.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

7. "Keep your face always toward the sunshine, and shadows will fall behind you." Walt Whitman

8. “The secret of change is to focus all your energy not on fighting the old but on building the new.” Socrates

9. “Build your own dreams, or someone else will hire you to build theirs.” Farrah Gray

10. “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” C.S. Lewis

11. “If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one! “ Dolly Parton

This Heart Leap Substack is all about how to build a happy, creative, and simple life and we explore ways to ‘begin again’.

We look at ways to simplify our routines and processes, how to build happiness habits into our daily lives, and strategies to carve out time for our creativity so it’s not drowned out by the grind.

At 9 a.m on Tuesday and Thursday, we take part in ‘happy writing hours’ for paid subscribers. It’s for anyone who is trying to write a book, start a substack, or just have a little accountability for their writing practice. We chat for 5 minutes or so, and then we write quietly together for the rest of the hour. It’s strangely comforting and motivational to have a cohort of writers to support you and write alongside you. Subscribe and join us if you want some support. Zoom link below.