Everywhere I go, problems and stress are pouring out of peoples conversations and sizzling on the sidewalks, heating up everyone else that walks over them.
Around this time of year it seems like everything is coming down on everyone, at least from the conversations Ive been a part of or overheard in random places. Youre strung out from all-nighters and your motivation is down the drain. You need a good dose of inspiration to keep you uplifted for the rest of the semester, but youre bored of the coffee shop scene, its getting a bit too cold to study outdoors, and the obvious, you really dont want to study anyway.
Well, Id like to let you in on a little secret that could be your cure for these midsemester blues Im sure some of you are experiencing. No, Im not going to tell you to join a group, make some new friends or wash away your sorrow with a nice cold 40.
Its really much simpler than that.
Its what lies inside each of us, yet gets intoxicated by layers of stress that have accumulated over the last few months. Its the very creative insides we were all born with. Its the ability we all have to make ourselves happy from the simple ingredients of our hearts, minds and souls. For everyone its different, Im sure. But as for me, the thing I know that works best to clear the clouds above me is through the simple practice of yoga and meditation. Though very ancient methods may seem too spacey for some, these methods to clear the way for creativity to come up from the depths of my consciousness do the trick. You dont have to sign up for a class, but actually just have to go to the nearest bookstore - Barnes & Noble Booksellers was my choice - and rummage through the diverse collection of everyone and anyones rendition of a good yoga book.
Complete with pictures describing, prescribing and informing how to do the yoga postures and meditation techniques, I found this new book a kindling to my life. Yoga and meditation arent something to be afraid of or feel you dont have the time to do, because you have trouble concentrating, for example. Yoga and meditation are there for you, coinciding with your natural body rhythms, if you are just still enough to let the peace come in. You are in for a ride of instant creativity and motivation if you choose this route of purification. However, I do realize it isnt for everyone. What I think is also a good cure to get over your midsemester blues is to remember way back when, during the summer for example, when your schedule wasnt as filled with studying every night as it is now, and remember what you used to do that made you happy.
Whether it be working out, reading a book, indulging in a good romantic foreign film or taking pictures in the wild natural world of East Lansing, there have to be things you all can do for yourselves to get over the lull in the air and turn it into a sweet lullaby singing its way into the air, so the sidewalks become a softer place to step. A wise woman once said to me, Dont forget to breathe. Breathing, although an unconscious involuntary act, should never go unrecognized because the simple act of taking a deep slow inhale, and letting it out with a long sigh ahhhhhhhhhh, can do wonders. Feels good, huh?
Anyway, the intentions of my words are only to brighten up your days because I know it gets tough and we are all going through it, so sometimes it takes another voice to let you know everything is going to be all right.
Erin Schwartz, a State News undergraduate columnist whose column appears one Tuesday a month, can be reached at schwar80@msu.edu.