Slow times

Sorry, folks, for the delay in putting up another blog post. Part of my absence from this blog has been the result of laziness. But there also hasn't been that much happening since I returned from Wikwemikong last weekend.

I've spent most of my days checking statistics on the number of copies of Living Through Leukemia: A Journey to Health I've sold through outlets like Amazon.com, playing drums, and of course working on the SDSU Festival of Cultures. Other activities that have taken up some time have been watching TV, updating Web sites, and learning more about my Canon 30D camera.

All in all, things have been coming along pretty well. But there have been struggles as well, as is often the case in life. Work on the Festival of Cultures over the past week has generally moved slowly. There hasn't been a whole lot of progress. But I imagine that will be different this week since I've had more time to relax and get inspired over the weekend. And the fact I'm working on changing my orientation to work and life is going to help, too.

For the most part, I've cruised along in a positive headspace. Things in life are generally going well. I'm happy in my relationships with my friends and family, I have steady employment, and I'm getting back into the writing/photography saddle again and am ready to face new challenges. But there are times when I relapse into dark spaces where I'd prefer to not spend much time. Fortunately, I'm continuing to learn the triggers for those trips into dark territory and how to avoid or deal with those triggers.

The greatest cause for the souring of my mood at any given time seems to be tiredness. A good chunk of that tiredness is the result of not sleeping or resting enough. The tiredness can also be caused by anxiety or having a lot of thoughts spinning around my head and trying to process all of the information with which I'm bombarded each day. It's not that information isn't good; it's just that sometimes, especially when it comes from a variety of sources and relates to a variety of topics, it's hard to sort through everything and make some sense of it. What I need to do now is to try to nip tiredness in the bud and make sure I'm taking good care of myself. Taking care of myself involves getting plenty of rest, indulging in favorite activities purely for pleasure, eating a balanced diet, and exercising. And I also need to break the habit of comparing myself and my accomplishments with others and to feel I need to be going Mach 2 with my hair on fire to feel like I'm progressing and being successful at life.

There will always be ups and downs in life; that's a given, and I'm sure it's part of the spice of life. But the down times don't have to derail us when they come knocking on our doors. When those dark times come calling, all we can do is remember the situation is temporary and that better, happier times will come again. And so long as we deal with those times in positive, constructive ways, we'll all come out ahead. It's sometimes easier said than done, but it does work.