The Doldrums

“The Doldrums, also called the ‘equatorial calms’, is a nautical term for the inter-tropical convergence zone, with special reference to the light and variable nature of the winds…Even today the doldrums have a nasty reputation and may cause unexpected delays for circumnavigators.”         

                                                                        Wikipedia

“Day after day, day after day,

We struck, nor breath nor motion;

As idle as a painted ship

Upon a painted ocean.”

                                                                        Coleridge: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

            You don’t have to be on a ship at the equator to get stuck in the doldrums.  Most often today we use the term to mean being stuck in a rut, unmotivated, listless.  When we get to dead-winter, many of us hit a point of malaise in which we feel lifeless, heavy.  If you are like me, you amble around in a fog and can’t find your way out.  One of the reasons that winter is my least favorite season is that I know this period of dull density will overtake me.  Some refer to it as Seasonal Affective Disorder, and indeed, it can feel like depression.  In my case, it feels like being possessed by a mean spirited devil.  Can’t think straight, can’t get started, can’t pick up where I left off, and don’t want to do anything new.  It’s a screaming-at-the-dog, slamming-cabinet-doors, paper-ripping time of year.  Nothing works, nothing fits, and I’m tired of my clothes, my house and myself.  Whew!

            Maybe you never get stuck in the doldrums.  If you don’t, consider yourself fortunate indeed, and try to have compassion for those who do.  If you do, here are a few things that may help you to beat them.  (1) Put on some music you love, sit down with a box of colored pencils or markers and draw a mandala.  Make a circle, then start in the middle and let the colors guide you.  Anything will do.  Just fill in your circle and if you want to color outside the lines it’s okay. (2) Put on some jazzy music and dance all by yourself.  Don’t worry about being a ‘good’ dancer, just move to the music.  (3) Bundle up and go for a walk---best if you choose someplace with trees and water.  Don’t power walk, just amble, listen to the birds and watch the water.  (4) If there is some type of housework you actually enjoy, play some music you love, and do it.  For me, it’s ironing, especially if I have lavender water to spray on my linens.  Ironing is a Zen practice for me, perhaps because it quiets and focuses the mind.  (5) If all else fails, bake a batch of brownies, bread, or muffins.  Just the smell of bread baking can sometimes do the trick.  I’m sure you have your own ways of beating the doldrums.  For the most part, we who experience winter this way just have to put our heads down and plow through it.  These months of low light are a great time for people who love winter sports, but some of us have to invent ways of coping while we wait for the spring sun.   Let me know what works for you.  

In the Spirit, 

Jane