I Got The Blues

I got the blues. Does that have a familiar ring to it? Picture little kids happily dancing and singing about the Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Blues. If only that were the type of blues that had hold of me I wouldn‘t be so miserable to live with. But I have what I like to call the Ecclesiastes Blues. What in the heck do I mean by that? Read on:

Ecclesiastes 1:2, 8-9 (NIV)“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”

All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again. All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing. What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.

Not explanation enough? One of my Professors in college used to say “define that concept.” (Sidebar: Yes, this is the same one who taught me “lateral arabesque“ from an earlier blog.) I am burned out. Nothing is particularly wrong, but I’m physically and mentally tired. I want to lie down on my bed and sleep and veg out with the remote for about two weeks - or maybe longer. Unfortunately, that’s not realistic and it’s not going to happen. So what can I do? I can tell you what hasn’t helped. Having a short fuse, moping around and being cranky, and my favorite, slamming dirty dishes into the dishwasher. Hard to believe that none of these actions changes my attitude, although the last one at least helps to get the kitchen clean. This may come as a surprise, especially to my sisters, but I don’t enjoy living like a grump all the time. It’s pretty bad when even I get on my nerves.

On the other hand, I get the blues from time to time and they always pass. Like the verse above says “What has been will be again.”

But, Ecclesiastes 11:7-8 (NIV) also says:

Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun. However many years a man may live, let him enjoy them all. But let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many.

What am I to take from this? I will have good days and bad days, and plenty of both. I need to remember my days of darkness because at the end of the dark there has always been light. It gives me hope. I may have the blues right now, but I’ve been here before, I know they will not last forever, after all, there is nothing new under the sun.