That time of year. The pale glow of the southern sun coming on, a little after “low noon.” Nightfall at around 5 to 5:40 P.M.. And it’s cold. All the time. Then there are periods of extreme cold. Today, however the high is the early 50’s and it will be sunny! I will be in sleeveless A-shirt and not chilled a bit.
The arc of my life has not seen very many episodes of major depression. Oh! I fall prey to those quarterly “My God I have squandered my potential!” moments that can gut a day, maybe two, every three months or so. Nothing too debilitating. Overall I seem a pretty together kinda guy. But last year was a doozy. Some life wrenching transitions were made. I learned about the long-term soul rotting depressions I had worked with and around most of my career as a helping professional. My saving grace might be that I am just shallow enough not to be as utterly consumed as others might. In a physician Heal thyself way I developed a cognitive/behavioral counter-assault that finally won out. I became stronger and the all the Flies of Beelzebub were successfully swatted.
Last year was a big year in many ways. I found out that although a bit rusty, I still haven’t lost my pugilistic abilities. I had a couple of slug fests with a couple of young miscreants, one a decade younger and the other about three decades younger than the “Humble Hammer”. Anyway, if you are having the seasonal blues, either beat on an intruder or this vid may prove helpful. Remember, sometimes we have to win the argument with ourselves before we give consent for change.
JACKHAMMERJOHN 