Guide to Living Well

A friend of mine posed the following question:

“What is up with the post-holiday blues?”

Indeed. What is up with them?

Are you bummed when all the lights come down? Dreary when the trees hit the curbs? (Recycle them!) Depressed when you know you’ve attended your last party until the Superbowl?

Why do so many people get depressed after the holidays?

I’m not sure myself, but it does seem like so many of us live our lives waiting for something better than the present moment – the weekend, a party, our vacation, etc. How many of your Facebook friends regularly post about how much they are looking forward to the weekend? It’s pretty depressing to see how many people just aren’t very happy with their daily lives.

The holidays provide an escape from that daily grind. They provide days off of work, gifts, excuses to eat (a lot), chances to see friends, and general merriment. The holiday season is anything but every day.

Gretchen Rubin is currently challenging the readers of her blog, “The Happiness Project,” to be happier in 2010. (Learn more about starting your own happiness project on her website.) If we are blessed enough to have the freedom to make measurable changes in our lives, shouldn’t that always be our resolution? To be happier?

In 2010, I’m going to try to make my life more meaningful and enjoyable. Not just on weekends. Or vacations. Or holidays. Every. Single. Day. I know that every day of 2010 won’t be great, but I’m planning to up my average of good days. Hopefully, my Facebook friends will notice.

Rebecca Grazulis is a Chicagoan, a vegetarian (yes, you can be both), a wanna-be yogi and a former high school English teacher in a period of career exploration. You can e-mail her at [email protected] or visit her website.

Thank you to Thicker Than Your Average Girl for the featured image.