There was a song by The Carpenters that became popular when I was growing up, with the lyrics, “Rainy days and Mondays always get me down”. This is what I like to refer to as a sappy love song. It goes along with the sappy Hallmark® movies. Many people want to believe, for their entire lives, in the fairy tale of love; and when their happy-ever-after ending turns sour, they wallow in misery. Some actually enjoy being miserable and throw a continuous self pity party for themselves. “Misery loves company” they say; but I think the larger truth is that “when you cry, you cry alone”. We tend to avoid habitually unhappy people because they bring us down.
Many things can spark a reminder of something that can momentarily catapult us into melancholy. We can choose; however, to let go of negative feelings and emotions as they arise. We can reject sadness and immerse ourselves in the present moment; rather than boarding the train of despair that will carry us into perpetual darkness. We can look at rainy days as simply what they are and realize that it is a mere memory or a mis-guided thought that gives them the power to bring us down. We can approach Monday mornings with a sense of pure possibility. What amazing things does this day or this week have in store for us? We can hopefully anticipate good things to come, or we can begin the week on a downward spiral into calamity.
The good news is that we always get to choose in each and every moment how we want to feel. If Monday doesn’t turn out so well, we can try again on Tuesday, to make it a better day. I personally love rainy days. I love Mondays, too. The weekend is gone. The coming weekend is far away. But, we have the entire week to ask ourselves how we can make a difference, not only in our own lives, but in life itself. “Smile, and the world smiles with you.”
