Blue Monday
Monday January 22, 2007
According to the Independent newspaper, today has been designated the most depressing day of the year. Presumably this is for those of you who are living in the UK. If you are over in Brazil, sitting on a beach and listening to samba music (hello over there!), then perhaps you’ll have a rather different perspective.
Anyway, psychologist Dr. Cliff Arnall has said that today, Monday 22nd – dubbed Blue Monday – is the worst day of the year. Christmas is over, the weekend is over, it’s dark and cold, summer seems a long way away… I must admit that I myself would not have noticed it was Blue Monday have been feeling quite cheerful today, but there are still ten hours left, so I should probably watch what I say.
The Independent newspaper seems to be preoccupied with happiness at the moment. Yesterday they dubbed French Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard the happiest man in the world. In that article, Ricard says that “happiness is a skill. It requires effort and time.” I’m sure that he is right. And I am also sure that part of the skill is the skill of valuing happiness itself, of recognising that the desire for simple, straightforward happiness is a worthwhile and honourable one to have. Asceticism – also known as the “if it hurts it must be doing you good” school of thinking – helps nobody.
Anyway, if your Monday is going badly, there may still be time enough to lift that gloom before sundown. Get some tips from the Beat Blue Monday website. As for me, it’s sunny outside and the sky is blue. Blue Monday indeed! I’m going to stroll down the canal in the direction of the library, and pick up a book or two. Have a nice day!
