Right Speech

I don't know if it was the combination of hormones, lack of serotonin, lack of sleep, or crappy weather, but I was in a MOOD yesterday. Oh and add a migraine to that. We went to get our Christmas tree even though we were all testy and irritable. We put on a brave face for the kids so we could get the damn thing done.

Looking at it now, decorated and full of kid-made ornaments, it was worth the hassle.

And that's just it, isn't it, most good things are worth the hassle. I'm sure I'm paraphrasing someone, possibly Buddha or maybe some Victorian novelist. The whole, "Anything worth doing is hard and worth doing well" or some such sentiment.

But the dark winter days make it far more challenging to do things. The cozy blankets of my bed call for me at all hours of the day. I fight the depression of winter that always lurks in the shadows. I'm counting down the days to the shortest day of the year, because that calls for celebration: from then on out, the days get longer. Thankfully.

It can be really hard not to snap at your kids or your spouse when you're not feeling well. I noticed myself doing that yesterday and I deliberately stopped myself and changed course. Things began to be more fun for everyone when I pulled up my compassion and stopped acting like an angry swamp witch.

Right speech: it's so simple, but so hard to abide by. That's what I'm working on this weekend. And will need to work on for the rest of my life, to be honest. But it's well worth the effort.