Everyone needs rays of sunshine sometimes. Obviously the literal sense is very enjoyable, but when I talk about rays of sunshine, I mean it in a more metaphorical sense. When you’re down, sad, or in a dark place, rays of sunshine are what can help you change this. Everyone has them, but sometimes you may not even be aware of what they are.
Rays of sunshine can come in many different forms. Rays of sunshine can be people, music, activities, even places sometimes. Identifying what your rays of sunshine are can be a really important part of life, because knowing what these are can make it easier to escape from the clutches of sadness.
For me, rays of sunshine come from a few places, and I am going to talk about some of the things I turn to when I need help to improve my mood or mental state.
The first, and probably most important to me, is people, because I have a few people I can turn to. One of these people is my amazing girlfriend, who never fails to find a way to make me smile when I need it, because no one knows me better than she does. Just talking to her makes me happy and I am incredibly grateful for that. My close group of friends are others, sometimes as someone to vent to, sometimes as a pick me up.
Another thing I turn to is music. Sometimes it’s a certain song, artist, album, or even a playlist. It really depends on what mood I’m in at the time, or what I feel I need to hear, but music is such an important part of my life, it’s unusual for me to go a day without listening to something. Sometimes I turn to sad music, because I need to know I’m not the only one who feels a certain way. Sometimes it’s I need to listen to my favourite artist or album because they make me feel better. Another aspect of music that I am really trying to get back into is playing, because I do find sitting and playing music really relaxing. Music is my escape, and I love losing myself in it.
The last thing I wanted to talk about is something I don’t get to do as often as I’d like to, but when I get to, it just makes me happy. Sport, and particularly rugby union, is a great love of mine. Watching it is something I really enjoy, but whenever I get the chance to get a rugby ball in my hands, I am in a very happy place. I get to be someone slightly different to who I am normally, more confident, and more in control, and I like being able to express that part of my personality.
The hopes I have for this post is to show what my personal rays of sunshine are, and hopefully over time build up a set of comments where people can share their own rays of sunshine, so that maybe people can help each other find new ways to be happy!
So again, look for the silver lining, and this is Conor, signing off
