Moods

Sometimes the light’s all shinin’ on me,
Other times I can barely see.

And so it goes.

I am fascinated by the way moods come and go and how they are often independent of a particular stimulus or event. You wake up in a good mood. Or a bad one. Maybe it’s because you had a good night’s sleep or a restless one, a pleasant dream or a scary one. Or maybe not. Moods, in the words of a psychologist writing on the subject, tend to be “diffuse with no identifiable object.”

That’s why it’s so—if I can use this word—“magical” when I find myself, mid-day, hours into the daily routine of research or writing interspersed with chores, suddenly feeling lighter and brighter. Gloriously upbeat. Hopeful, sunny, light-hearted.

It’s not because the sun is shining. (I actually like soft gray rainy days.) It’s not because the House voted to impeach Trump. (If only.) Or even that I avoided today’s toxic news cycle. (I know news fasts are a good idea. I just can’t do it.) It’s not because I landed a contract for the new book. (Working on that proposal right now.)

It’s just because. And I love that.

May you be overcome by an inexplicable good mood today, tomorrow or soon.