Dreary Day Appreciation
Why I hike in the gloom
Anyone who knows me will tell you I’m a sun worshipper and probably suffer from at least some form of seasonal affective disorder.
It’s not as bad anymore, but for many years, it made me feel physically ill to be inside on a beautiful sunny spring, summer, or fall day. In the dead of winter, a blah feeling is always ready to pounce.
A warm, sun-drenched day, for me, can mitigate most melancholy. There’s something Zenlike about feeling the sun soak into my skin and through my eyelids. It pulls me into instant calm, relaxing my breathing and reducing anxiety.
It’s easy to feel good on a sunny day. You just go out on your deck or to your yard and lay down. Or you go for a walk or to the park. Even with no scenery to look at, things look nice in the sun.
Dreary days do the opposite, and the darker the clouds, the more powerful the doldrums. I started writing this one Sunday when the now frequent wildfire smoke combined with the Sunday blues was making me feel extra blah.
So I did what I’ve learned is the best thing for that feeling: I aired up my tires and let my bike and local bike path beat it out of me. It takes a little creativity to enjoy a dreary, gray day, unless you’re content to just stay inside.
