The Saturday Seven: Ways to Change Your Mood at Home

Do you ever find yourself in a mood that you don't like? Agitated? Sad? Angry? Frustrated? You try to "snap out of it" but sometimes can't even recongize what you are really feeling. Back in the 60's and 70's Mood Rings were all the rage. All you had to do was slip on a Mood Ring and it would change color. Luckily those handy reference charts interpreted the color to indicate your mood. I remember dreading it being "blue" or "black" for some reason. Anyway I digress. Of course you hardly need a silly Mood Ring to really tell you how you are feeling, although sometimes we don't always know why we feel the way we do. Regardless of how or why, sometimes we just feel the need to change your mood. This was the inspiration for this week's scintillating installment of The Saturday Seven: Ways to Change Your Mood At Home. You'll notice that this list does not include stuff you can do outside of home, that is another day's post altogether....

above: #1 Music: Playing music is probably my top way of changing my mood. It can cheer me up, slow me down, put me in the mood for whatever...I love music and it always affects my mood.

above: #2 A Kitty on Your Lap: Either pet will do I suppose. But there is something about having your cat snuggle up on your lap that grounds me and puts me in a good mood.

above: #3 The Fireplace: I love to sit in front of the fireplace. I find it mesmerizing and has a definite calming affect.

above: #4 Soft Lighting: I'll take a low wat soft light lamp over bright ceiling lights- or God forbid-fluorescent lights (gasp!). Good lighting has such an impact on my mood.

above: #5 Candles: Similar to the fireplace, candles create intimacy and make the room feel smaller. They tend to make me reflective and melancholy for some reason.

above: #6 Incense: Or even a potpourri or oil lamp. A smouldering scent filling the room alters my mind and puts me in a happy place. When I really need a brisk attitude adjustment, I break out the incense.

above: #7 Home Baked Apple Pie: A traditional favorite, everyone knows that the smell of a home baked apple pie is a subliminal stimulus of sorts. It brings back memories of childhood, being at home with Mom or Grandma as she baked pies. Mmmmm it makes me feel good just thinking about it!

What do YOU do at home to change your mood? Go ahead, leave a comment, I'd love to hear from you.

-Rick Rockhill