Mood Muse

It’s hot outside. Treacherously hot.

While the thermostat says 96F, my weather app says the heat index is 110F.

Oh, and did I mention the North Central Florida humidity??

I was outside yesterday afternoon pulling the garbage cans to the curb and felt like I had to swim back to the house. It had rained a bit earlier in the day and the sun had come out to steam us up a bit (more).

My inner Faultfinder began to groan with gloom and discontent. And then I looked up and saw it.

The one remaining cluster of pink blooms on the crepe myrtle tree next to our garage. It was waving at me in the very small breeze. I couldn’t help but smile.

My Faultfinder went back into hiding.

Nature has that effect on me. Like glancing up at that mid-summer bloom, watching the Monarch butterflies flit around our newly planted patch of milkweed plants, contemplating a nearby Sweet Gum leaf shake and shimmer in front of me as I wait for my dog to sniff around in the grass on our neighborhood walk, or listening to the Barred Owls converse in our backyard after I turn off my light at night, nature can bring me back to peace, bring me back to center.

I identify it often. When facing the afternoon “rush hour” and getting irritated by a fellow motorist, I can look up at the sky, clear blue, gray or busy with clouds, and always find the peace, the calm.

When suffocating within my own negative thoughts, struggling to communicate effectively with a loved one, I can step outside and notice the scar on the pine tree damaged years ago by a bolt of lightning. Hurt by a power much greater than itself, it still stands, tall, strong, reaching for the sky amid the other trees vying for the same rays of energy.

Nature does that for me.

What is your mood muse? Art? Love? Music?

Not sure? One way to find out is to list your favorite:

1. Sights—What around you do you think is beautiful? A good sunset? Abe Lincoln’s profile?
2. Sounds—What do you like to hear? The cooing of a happy baby? Taps bugle call?
3. Touch—What textures do you like to feel? The soft fur of a kitten? The spiny hull of a chestnut?
4. Taste—What is your favorite food? Pistachio ice cream? Flaming Hot Doritos?
5. Smell—What smells do you love? Fresh baked bread? Puppy’s breath?

Whatever it is, guess what?

You don’t have to be anywhere near any of those things you just listed.

Your mind can take you there whenever you want, just try it. Think about those Flaming Hot Doritos. Doesn’t your mouth (and nose) start watering immediately?

I challenge you to try this simple exercise the next time your Faultfinder tries to come onboard. Look out the window at the trees or sky. Open up that image that makes you smile (Is it your screensaver? If not, why not?!). Think of your favorite person and how they make you feel when you are around them.? Remember those “favorite” things and take yourself there.