Grey with a touch of...more grey

Not every weekend is an ideal weekend, not that the non-ideal ones are bad though, sometimes things don't go to plan; I generally lower my expectations I have - play things down rather than up - so that if something doesn't quite work out I feel less disappointed, let down or unhappy.

I happened on Sunday. [I don't know why but] I had it in my mind it was going to be a really cool day and allowed my expectations to creep upwards. Murphy's Law though...It didn't work out.

It wasn't the weather, although that messed up the photography I was planning. It wasn't the company, I was alone as I knew I would be. It wasn't any single thing, just a series of small happenings, one after the other, that tripped me up and left me sprawled out in a puddle with wet jeans, a skinned knee and people laughing at my misfortune. Ok, that didn't happen at all, I'm writing figuratively, but you get the drift right? It was a grey day, uninspiring, bland and a little frustrating over all.

That's how life goes I guess, although I work towards a more interesting life, painting my canvas with colourful brushstrokes, creating my masterpiece with vibrancy, energy and light...but there's muted colours in it too, shades happen.

When I realise I'm feeling a little uninspired - sometimes it can take time to see it clearly - I generally feel like kicking myself in the ass, something that would not only look funny, but be quite a miraculous feat of human movement, but that ass-kicking-feeling isn't enough to move me to more colourful places. It's all great when I can engage in an activity that makes me feel energised and happy, hiking, gardening or some such thing as a distraction, but sometimes that's not possible and that's when I look inwardly and apply a technique I learned a long time ago.

It's a very basic thing involving things I love doing and which make me feel energised, uplifted and engaged, but doing them in my mind, not in reality.

I mean remembering them, but not simply the memory, it's more about the feelings I get because of that memory. I play a movie reel in my mind and immerse myself in it, allow the feeling of doing that thing to permeate throughout my mind and to push away other thoughts. It's designed to fill me with the right feelings so that the wrong ones don't have any more room. It's a detachment of sorts, a detachment from what is and a reconnection to what was and could be. I'm not saying the emotions aren't dealt with, they need to be of course, but that needs to happen when I'm in the right frame of mind.

Sure, I'd love to go and actually do that thing but it's not always possible and doing them virtually, in my mind, sinking back into the feeling and emotion of those moments I lived previously, helps me reset my compass so I can move forward more positively. It turns grey into brighter colours.

This concept is simple; a mindful detachment to find space to reset and adjust thoughts and attitudes. It could never replace the act of actually doing those things and the feelings I get from them, but when I can't physically do them, and need a reset, the grey Sunday I experienced for example, it's a really easy and effective way to gain detachment. I say easy here, although it's taken a long time for me to be able to do it as effectively as I do now...mindfulness can take practice I suppose.

I wonder what your methods are to realise and understand your thoughts and attitudes are negatively affecting your actions - do you have methods in place to address that? Distraction, going and doing something that makes us feel good works well, but it's not always possible; I have my way, but what about you? Feel free to comment about how your turn grey to vibrant colours, I always respond.