I live in Maine.

Around this time of year—early spring—people get pretty tired of winter. It is technically spring, but there is still snow (some of it pretty dirty and gross) hanging around.

It can be hard to feel good, or stay aligned with a high vibration, when life just seems to drag us down. People get irritable with each other—frustrated that things aren’t working out better for them.

There’s a sense of injustice with the cold, with the snow, with bleak, rainy days, with being stuck in an unfulfilling job, with living paycheck to paycheck, with the chaos and stress of home life (especially if you have kids, those sweet little monsters), with living in a country that seems (emphasis on the seems) to be going to hell in a hand basket.

We are touched by an overall feeling of boredom and monotony.

It’s all enough to sink into a bit of a depression, isn’t it?

I’ve battled with this for years. Growing up in Maine, I dreaded winters and planned to get the heck out of here as soon as I could after graduating high school. I eventually returned with glee, but I still sometimes struggle with the early darkness and lack of consistent sunlight that affect my well-being.

I have developed some ways to manage this. Here are five of them:

1. Give thanks for the little things—all day long.

Every morning, I think of three specific things that I am grateful for. The sunlight warming my home, my joyful, healthy children, or my loving and endlessly supportive husband are three that come up a lot. This sets the tone for my day and is a lovely way to wake up. I try to make an effort to notice other things that I am grateful for throughout my day too—a kind driver who lets me into the lane, a healthy, organic meal, the chirping of birds in my yard, or a heartfelt hug from my son.

2. Notice what feels good, expansive and light in your chest—and do more of that.

Today my daughter wanted to paint. Normally I would take the opportunity to do some dishes while she was busy, but this time I decided to let the dishes wait and sat down to paint with her. I noticed something happening while I was doing it. I felt a sense of ease, almost like a flow—the broad strokes of the brush moving through my hand, the swirling colors combining on the pink construction paper, and the sense of focus I had. I didn’t want to stop.

There are other things that uplift us. We often don’t take the time to notice this feeling, which allows us to align with other wonderful things out there for us. Things like watching the ducks swim in circles in a pond with the comical quacks and the rippling water, or making dinner for my kids while listening to an awesome John Mayer song—music is a vibrational wave that seeps into our body to uplift our frequency—can bring us true joy if we take the time to pay attention and notice our bodies’ response.

3. Go to the sun.

This is an obvious one. But before you start thinking, “She’s talking about taking a vacation to Florida or something and I can’t afford that,” pause for a moment. My family of four just went to Costa Rica basically for free (well, excluding plane ticket taxes). I decided I wanted to go to Costa Rica a year ago, so I put it on my vision wall and did some research. It took some time to manifest, but we were eventually able to go on frequent flyer miles, faith, and a bit of planning.

Our negative ego minds are always looking for reasons that we can’t or shouldn’t do something. Let’s stop buying into that. The universe works in magical, mysterious ways. Our desired intentions, demonstrated through our thoughts and actions, create a frequency more powerful than the world you see with your eyes. Trust me on this one.

4. Focus on your breath and move your body.

Whenever I’m feeling frustrated or down, I know that I need to go lie down and do some “mind quieting.” Guided meditation apps you can download on your phone—Calm is a pretty great one—are a nice place to start. You can also check out my own podcast.

You can do this in a range of tiny moments. I like to notice my inhale and exhale while waiting in line at the grocery store or while lying in bed with my son as he falls asleep. And if there is stuck energy in your body, moving your body through yoga or dance is an incredible way to release emotion.

5. Talk to something higher than yourself.

I had to work through a lot of stuff to get to this one. I was raised going to church, but quickly became disillusioned through a negative experience at one. I then almost became an atheist, until a series of experiences with death touched my life and changed me. I had felt comforted, over and over, by light, and once by a divine guide himself.

I now have expanded my communication with higher powers to talk to angels (I’m on a big archangel kick right now!), to Jesus (in a Christ consciousness sort of way), and of course always to the spirit guides and guardian angels that I know are always around me. I regularly use number sequences I see to help guide me throughout my day, as well as messages that come in various forms.

I have learned to give thanks at all times to divine sources of love and to surrender to this love in my life. I understand that even though I may believe I want something, I need to sometimes let go of it if the request doesn’t suit what’s best for my soul evolution. This is what fuels me every day.

Coping with the doldrums that everyday life sometimes brings is just a matter of prioritizing your happiness and taking some time to intentionally direct your energy and soul. There will always be something that seems more pressing to do—so what if you just let that thing rest, even just once? I might have never painted and spent time in that joyous space with my daughter that day otherwise. And I still did the dishes today too.

 

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Author: Rachel Horton White

Image: Author’s own; Flickr/Emilio Garcia

Editor: Callie Rushton