Secret: Find the good to find more good
by Lyssa Myska Allen, who only knows how to be happy in the great outdoors
Q and I are trotting slowly up a hill, on a narrow path covered in fallen yellow aspen leaves, the mythical yellow brick road of aspens. The wind picks up, and the yellow leaves start falling from the trees, swirling around me and the horse, flecks of yellow-gold against a heartbreaking blue. The air currents whistle softly through the trees, rustling the leaves, gently loosening the chosen ones to float against the bluebird backdrop that is the Colorado sky. Q snorts in the way of a happy horse; I relax back in the saddle, recognizing that this is my magic moment.
This is the first moment I really, truly, loved fall.
I’ve long held that I get seasonal depression during the winter, but this fall was my first experience with resistance to a different season. I flat-out refused to embrace the onset of autumn. Despite the fact that I too like all things pumpkin, scarves, and the incredible change of leaves from green to gold to gone, I just couldn’t grasp any enthusiasm for it. But one magical autumn afternoon changed it all for me.
It’s that simple. The easy-peasy recipe for fighting autumn depression: find its magic. Fall clothes, fires in fireplaces, snuggling under blankets, football season, whatever you can grasp ahold of—do. The more you embrace the good, the more good you’ll find. Then, before you know it, you’ll be loving fall as much as the next person—or it’ll be winter.
We’re lucky to have the passing of the seasons, marking time, allowing us fresh perspectives, even if they start out resistant or negative. You can obviously put this strategy into play during any season. Embrace the good to find the good!
Image: NOT the moment described above, but taken on the same day. Q is pictured.