Back to the heirloom comforter, part deux. Last year, after I mended about a foot around the perimeter of that blanket, the mood went out the window.
“I’m just not in the mood for this.” Have you ever said this, and then walked away from whatever task, argument, or entanglement triggered the statement?
I’m not so sure that being in the mood for something, or out of the mood for it, means you’re temperamental, touchy, or emotional. It might just mean that you know your capabilities, and you know when it’s time to rest and when it’s time to put forth effort; when the effort is worthwhile and when it isn’t.
I don’t know what mood is required to finish mending that comforter, but simple math tells me I have twenty-three some feet to go. I surmise that my tidiness quotient may be just the kick in the pants I need to get into the mood to finish mending that darn blanket.
These kinds of tasks for me, require a certain mood. I don’t know if it’s “creative”-types who must be inspired to finish these kinds of projects or if it’s everybody.
This made me think about the concept of mood. One can be in a good mood. Or one can be in a bad mood.
Just ask your “mood ring.” Fitness trackers from watches to rings, tell us about what the mood ring did in the 70s. But the mood ring made us feel psychic, and thusly good about our powers of control. Fitness trackers can make us feel guilty if we somehow don’t measure up.
On the other hand, do we really need a device to tell us to cut the attitude, when we’re in bad moods? Or, that it’s okay to be elated at the report of good news?
Why is it that when we say someone is moody, we aren’t talking about their gaiety, delight, etc.? “Moody” seems to refer to a bad mood. Or does it describe volatility?
Isn’t everybody moody then, if it is a straightforward fluctuation of mood, related to circumstances? If this logic stands, then I suppose someone living with challenging or downright awful circumstances might be vulnerable to the moody moniker.
Some of us call a bad mood, snarky. My husband calls it crunchy. That word puts me in a bad mood! Snippy is another word I’ve heard to describe a bad mood. Pissy, is another one; although not so delicate.
We in America say we’re “pissed off” when we’re angry. I guess this is a useful connotation of the word given its origins as a release of waste to the outside of the body.
A mood, then, any mood is a release of emotion from the subconscious to the conscious mind. I think it was Shrek, or was it Donkey, who said, “better out than in?”
The origin of the word, mood, that has stayed around since prehistoric times, is “frame of mind.” A frame is what a picture is set into. Have you heard, “my mind is set?”
I think we can have our minds set on positivity or negativity. We can see a glass half full or half empty. We can be pessimistic or optimistic.
We can figuratively get up on the wrong side of the bed and our mind is already set before planting our feet on the floor, that we’re in a bad mood. I don’t know why this is, but I know some days are just that way.
I’ve learned that bad moods and good moods are temporary. They each will pass. And we should tread softly around them and let them be.
At any rate, what are you in the mood for today?