Why mindfulness is so important in life….especially if you are an artist or entertainer.
We all have those days where you feel a little meloncholy or lacklustre. As humans we often feel hundreds of emotions during just one week.
And if you are a creative type you can probably double that. Creative types, writers, artists, musicians and performers often have a dark side. It can be what drives them, or inspires them to create.
Often you may be able to lift yourself by watching a movie, listening to some beautiful music, but what about the days when there is no real cause for your low mood? It is easy to beat yourself up for this and spiral down further, but there are a few things you can do.
1: Rationalise why you feel the way you do. Is there a change you can make? Has something gone wrong that you can recticy? If yes, don’t waste time. Sort the issue immediately rather than procrastinating.
2: Having thought about step 1, have you realised that there is no real cause for your low mood?
You just have that sinking feeling with no real explanation? If so there is a couple of things you can do here:
A) Try to pick your mood up in the following ways:
*Watch a feel good movie
*Exercise or take a long walk
*Meditate
*Remember a powerful happy memory and really visualise it – bring it to life with strong colours and sounds and remember that feeling you had at the time.
Remember that feeling of warmth and fullness in your chest – and as you do so smile widely, with your eyes too. When you smile genuinely,
it sends messages to the brain and you release ‘feel good’ chemicals. If you paint on a smile for long enough, it can become real. (Note: This isn’t the same as
hiding away from your problems. It is simply making the best of a situation).
*Indulge in some nostalgia – go through old photo’s of happy times with friends or make a playlist of your all time favourite hits.
If you are having a really bad day, there is a chance this still might not work. Ultimately we are biological machines and our happiness relies not just on external forces, but also on other factors; environmental, health, diet and brain chemistry.
This is why diet is so important. If your body and brain isn’t getting the right nutrients, it is going to be out of sync and effect your moods. So ensure you eat a balanced diet with plenty of vegetables and fruit, and foods containing Omega 3’s for the brain – ie fish, nuts.
If you are doing all of this and it’s not helped, there is one more thing you can do….and please note I am not talking about manic depression here.
If you think you may have manic depression or another disorder then you need a doctor or specialist to correct the balance of chemicals in your brain.
I am just referring to those who get ‘the blues’ from time to time.
So, the final thing you can do is to be mindful of your moods. Accept that you are feeling the way you are and be aware that it will pass.
Emotions are fleeting, and just as a feeling of euphoria will pass soon, so will a dark mood. So if you really can’t escape it, don’t try. Instead try and use it to your advantage. Keep a journal, write some dark poems or a story – see what the negative emotions create through writing. You may be surprised at the depths you can pull out of that dark well!
Some of the literary greats suffered with depressive moods and wrote some of their best material during those times.
We can’t be happy all of the time. We are in a constant state of flux. But by being more aware and seeing our thoughts and moods as transient it can help us to see the bigger picture and that indeed – the glass isn’t half empty – it just feels like that today.
I hope you enjoyed reading this and it might be useful to some of you.
Love & Light
Kaz xxx
