Our local Parish Magazine (the fount of truth...) boldly declares January 26th to be the most depressing day of the year. Experts differ but the challenge remains the same: what do we do if "Rainy days and Mondays always get me down"?

I thought I'd turn "Blue" into an acronym, a recipe for joy – a cure for Blue Monday and every other day like it.

It's got not one but four flavours to lift the spirit.

My "B" would be "Beauty". I love to focus on beauty – natural beauty, real beauty like Nature's finest, rather than the accentuated glamour of the fashion industry. I continue to rejoice in the fact that my mind really can only focus on one thing at a time, even if that focus is momentary and fleeting. So, I deliberately focus on that art, that Nature, that music, that moment that I find full of beauty: Beautiful.

My "L" definitely follows Pam's Moodscope blog on "Laughter"... the best medicine alongside a good sleep! If I could laugh myself to sleep, that'd be perfect! Giggles or guffaws?

My laughter-preferences are definitely old-school. Catching a series of programmes on Ronnie Barker last night really sent me off to bed with a smirk on my chops!

My "U" is to celebrate being "Unique" since, even though I regularly wrestle with unhappiness, I still wouldn't want to be anyone else but me... flaws-n-all. Of course, to make this work as a cure for (or at least a distraction from) the blues, I have to focus on those unique characteristics and skills I actually like! I'm sure I can find three!!!

My "E" is for "Entrainment" - the strange phenomenon where our bodies and minds can synchronise with a rhythm and change for the better. To exercise more effectively, we know that upbeat music helps to get the system pumping. To chill out, the right gentle music not only soothes the mind but actually changes our heart rate. So, on Blue Monday, I choose my music on purpose - I choose it carefully, mindful of the fact that music has magic in it to change the mind.

Happy Mondays!

Lex

A Moodscope member.