Sometimes we are so stuck with being stuck that we finally settle for a rut life. Less effort, less threat, less joy - just less of everything. I've seen people give up on ever having anything new or different happen to them. I was brought up to look and love anything new. New opportunities, new friends, new meals, new travels, new babies, new animals, 
new experiences, new clothes, new movies, new snow, new buds, 
new shoes, new thoughts, new days, new sunrises, new moons.
I think the greatest gift my mother gave me was to have an appetite for exploring anything and everything that came my way in a day. I sometimes keep a 'new' record as it helps me to appreciate each day for the richness it brings just by being there. When you are so trapped in the moments of the past that you cannot move on, a depressed mood can set in that makes you blind to the moment you live in. If you feel that way or it is happening to you, then you have to grasp hold of the lifeline of new.
Mood is very affected by stimulation. If you only replay things that you have heard and said many times, you do not give opportunities for your emotions to feed and grow. Feelings need to be fed. If you feed sad feelings with sadness then the feeling gets lower. If you feed the same feelings with hope by
noticing things that are new, it is very uplifting. This week I saw some of the most beautiful moonrises I have ever seen. I had just taken the time to look for the moon early in the evening and I saw the most beautiful moonshine of any kind I had never 
noticed before. What a new gift that was to myself. The new berries are on the holly bushes. One of my best friends just had a new baby, my dog had a new haircut, and I tried a new recipe. What does all that do? It makes me feel new.
Promise to do at least one new thing a day between now and the end of the year and it really will be a new you for January. Keep a little notebook of the new things that happen in a day and you might be surprised at just how much had passed you by in the moment. A mindful mood creates a positive mood!!
