Battling the blahs

by Dr. Don Kuehle, United Methodist, Retired

The holidays have come and gone. We’ve been caught up in the frenzy of shopping, the giving and the getting, the cavernous platters of food and desserts, the endless flow of family and friends. All that is gone; and we’re beset by the after-holiday-blahs! Tired of picking up all that trash;

languid from eating left-overs; overwhelmed by a barrage of bills; saddened by a sense of loss, as those we love have left to return to their homes.

Drained of all our energy and enthusiasm. We are left with a return to work, to a dull routine, to “normalcy.” Life seems somewhat monotonous and dull; we drift listlessly through life. Blah humbug!

Is there no way to rid ourselves of the “blahs” and to re-capture, and keep, the “spirit of Christmas?” Sir William Osler, renowned Canadian physician/writer, offers us good advice on battling the blahs.

“Nothing will sustain you more potently than the power to recognize in your humdrum routine – the true poetry of life.”

How one looks at life makes all the difference! We “see” life through the eyes of our parents and grandparents. We see life as limited by the past, by what we know; we cannot see beyond what we have learned.

We see life in blacks-and-grays as reported on the nightly news; life is hopeless and we are helpless. Then Christ comes! He opens our eyes, gives us new sight and fresh insight into life! Now, we “see” life through the eyes of the One who created life; now, we are empowered to see life in all it’s richness, fullness, abundance – see life with all it’s color, fragrance, motion and rhythm – see a million possibilities in each situation.

Life is too wondrous, too hope-full, to ever tolerate the blahs!

Osler goes on to say: “I have three personal ideals. One is to do the day’s work well and not bother about tomorrow. The Second is to act out the Golden Rule. And the Third has been to cultivate such a manner of equanimity as would enable me to bear success with humility, the affection of family and friends without pride, and to be ready when the day of sorrow and grief comes to meet it with the courage befitting a man…” An ideal way to combat the holiday blahs!

Concentrating on ways to do our work well keeps one from getting bogged down in dull routines, feeling useless or without purpose, and allowing anxiety and stress to shape our lives. Concentrating on living out the Golden Rule in one’s daily life keeps a person focused on all that is good and gracious in others, and all that is wondrous in the world.

Concentrating on maintaining a balance in life keeps one centered on the virtues in life, and helps one overcome the vices.

Finally, Sir William writes: “We are here to add what we can to life, not to see what we can get from life!” Giving the best we have in order to further the cause of goodness and righteousness chases the blahs! Putting the needs of others ahead of one’s own puts the blahs on the run! Thinking of un-thought-of solutions to life’s situations leaves no time for the blahs!

The times following the holidays don’t necessarily lead to that “blah” feeling, feeling down, feeling sorry for oneself. We need to take charge of our life, rely on the wisdom and strength God gives us, and say “no” to the holiday blahs!