SING. SWEAT. PRAY.

I have a new sign on my fridge. It says: SING. SWEAT. PRAY.

Those are three things that I just won't do when I'm depressed. I heard a speaker share something a couple of weeks ago that I liked. She said "Depression starts in your ass. So get off your ass."

I'm a happy person living with depression.

I think of these daily practices as energy threads that keep me connected to a happy, functional life. (I could also add "EAT REAL FOOD" and "CALL PEOPLE" to that list.) Sometimes I let one or two of them go. At times I have let them all go at once. The thing is, once I let one element slide, it becomes so much easier to let the others go. They seem too cumbersome, too time-consuming, too much. And then come the real hounds of hell.

I'm no scientist, but I know a bit about serotonin. I know that singing, sweating, and making time for prayer (and her hipper cousin, meditation) are three things that give me the happy juice. And my brain is always about a quart short of the happy juice. So I do my stuff to the best of my ability every day, and try to reach out to life.

Last night I went to North Van to practice with a rock band. I recorded it, but it turned out just rotten. Real live rock bands are LOUD. I was loud too. It was hella fun and I hope to do it again soon.