Every now and then I feel a little world-weary. I’m sure you’ve felt it too. The ol’ Come Soon, Lord Jesus-weary, if you know what I mean.

Recently, my world-weary mood seemed to be teetering on the edge of dejection. You can imagine the things going on in the United States that may have contributed to that feeling. Those, and other worries closer to home, forced me to consider how I could adjust my perspective and lift my mood. Here are some ideas that help me and might just help you:

1. Unplug. Limit time on websites and social media. For me, this meant checking notifications and groups only and avoiding scrolling through feeds.
2. Step out of the 24/7 news cycle. We used to get our news in limited doses. Ironically, I felt better informed then than I do now.
3. Get a good night’s sleep. During this time, I was averaging 5-6 hours sleep each night. It’s not enough for me anymore.
4. Get outside – literally. It didn’t help that during this time it was either extremely cold or raining heavily (both of which included gray skies). And, the entire outside world reeked due to adjacent farms coating the fields in fertilizer. Even so, stepping into the larger world and especially into God’s creation is remarkably refreshing.
5. Get outside – figuratively. Leave behind the world around you and lose yourself in a novel (lots of recommendations here), movie, or music. Immerse yourself in the arts.
6. Focus on the  people around you, especially those who matter most. Invest time in your significant other, children, or friends. Look them in the eye, listen to them, be with them. Your interactions with them carry far more weight than a shrill scroll-by post on social media. Same goes for doting on any furry companions you may have, who, blessedly, do not speak.
7. Look inside. Focus less on the flaws of the world and more on perfecting yourself.
8. Be a student of history. Things have been bad, really bad, in lots of times and places. We don’t have the market on depravity.
9. Pray and fast. Self-explanatory, no? Fasting resources here.
10. Trust in God. See the little blessings. See the big ones. Trust that it’s all in His capable hands.

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