BLUE MONDAY!
I received an email recently from America and it started like this…
“Heyyyyo Simon Rushton, congrats on making it through Blue Monday, the most depressing day of the year"!
I didn’t really want to say “Well, hello to you too!” In fact my initial reaction caused me to say aloud “why on earth would anyone start an email like that?” It quickly began to dawn on me that I had never even heard of Blue Monday! Where had I been when that memo went out? The only thing I knew about Blue Monday was that it was the title of a great song from my youth by New Order, however this specific ‘day of the year’ had totally eluded me! To be fair, I’m glad!
It’s strange that even though I thought it was weird, for a few moments later I began to consider how someone, somewhere decided that a particular day of the year would become known as ‘Blue Monday’ because it would be the ‘worst day of the year’ for everyone. I imagined how on one ordinary day, they sat down drinking coffee strategising in their head how they would survive the day!
I started to actually research ‘Blue Monday’. Something inside me wanted to know how this bizarre day had ‘come to be’. My findings showed me that ‘Blue Monday’ appears to be dreamt up by psychologist Dr Cliff Arnall in 2004. He devised the formula for the bleakest day to help a travel company sell holidays, with the very first Blue Monday being on the 24 January 2005. This continued year after year, with Blue Monday being on Monday 16th January in 2023! I became even more amused that Dr Cliff Arnall had actually devised a mathematical formula to work out the exact day each year. I kid you not, this really is a thing!
It amazes me that people actually take this day seriously; that they actually look at their calendar and many just want to sleep until the day is actually over. How can people wake up and believe that this will be their most depressing day? How can they consider that a formula can tell them that? Strangely enough it is probably because they turn their thoughts to all the bad stuff that could happen. Whilst it seems ludicrous that people could fall for the obvious reason behind it, I also know that we can all get swept away emotionally by reading or hearing something. We all have the ability to allow something to bring joy or sadness to our life which in turn changes our mood instantly. One interesting thing that I found in my research of ‘Blue Monday’ is that it appears that The Samaritans have started a counter-campaign called Brew Monday. The day encourages people to "make time for a cuppa and a catch-up" which I think is a far more decent and helpful idea!
Philippians 4 verse 8 says
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
It’s a simple question today….
“What are you thinking about?”
Is it something that builds you or is it something that drags you down. We may have good intentions as we wake up but I suspect if we are being honest then we can all say that it’s easy to be knocked off track by a chain of thoughts that creep in throughout the day. It is so important that we regularly question ‘what we are thinking about’. I recently saw a quote by Rita Shiano that says ‘Believe on Monday the way you believe on Sunday’. I love that principle and not just for a Monday but every other day too.
Imagine waking up today thinking this is going to be the most depressing day of the year but for quite a few people on ‘Blue Monday’ that's exactly what they think about when their eyes open on that day! We can all say it's silly advertising, a gimmick and you would be right! What was once an advertising aid to sell a holiday has now become a monumental Day of the Year. We can laugh at those unfortunate enough to believe this kind of stuff, yet we are capable of falling for the hype in other ways. The world still throws a lot of ‘false advertising’ our way and the sobering thought is that we don’t even notice or see it coming and so accept much of it without any consideration!
The words think on or think about mean “to ponder, to give proper weight and value to, and to allow that new thinking to influence the way life is to be lived”
Can I just encourage you today to think about some good stuff? Be intentional and put some good stuff into your thinking to influence the way you live today!
Take today's scripture from Philippians and over a break and a brew (Brew Monday style!!) come up with a list that applies to your life and think of a few ways to put it practically into your day! Take time to be grateful and reflect on things that are good as this can lift your spirit and certainly change your thinking! It will help you to put some truth into your thoughts and may just change the direction of your day!
I’ll go first!
Whatever is true: God LOVES Me!...
That frankly is enough just there! Hold on though as it really doesn’t show the magnitude of who loves me! The creator of everything loves and cares about me. He knows who I am, he sees my failures in life, yet he still loves me! That’s the kind of thought I like to have!
Whatever is Noble: Kindness…
Kindness is a noble thing so is there a way today that I could bring some kindness to someone unsuspecting? Oh that sounds good as I rather like the idea of being on a secret mission!
Whatever is Right: Jesus…
I can give things to people all day long but the greatest gift I can give anyone is Jesus! I CAN show Jesus to someone else today by allowing them to see the nature of Jesus in me! Also in a more character forming way maybe I should try to be a nicer driver today? Could I actually let people out at a junction!
Whatever is Pure: Scripture…
Psalms 12 v 6 says “The words of the LORD are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times”. Today I am going to choose to put a bit of scripture into my thinking! I will read a Psalm or find some wisdom in Proverbs.
Whatever is Lovely: Family…
My Wife, my kids, and my grandkids love me! I really need to appreciate and savour that far more than I possibly usually do! (Famous in my own home!)
Whatever is admirable: God’s Character…
The Greek word εὔφημος [euphemos /yoo·fay·mos/] is translated admirable in the NIV Bible. The basic idea of this word is: ‘to what is being said with cautious reserve’ it’s also tied into ‘the fear of the Lord’. It’s taking some time to think about God with reverence, with respect, in Awe of and having an Awareness of His magnificence!
…Well, that’s me but what things will you think on today?
by Simon Rushton 8th Feb 2023
