Have you ever woken up in a perfectly good mood, only to find that by breakfast the world has become an irritating place? The coffee is too slow, the newspaper is annoying, and even the toaster seems to have an attitude.
What happened to your mood?
I’ve been thinking about mood as more than a passing emotion. A mood is a continuing stream of thoughts, memories, feelings, and bodily sensations. They interact, reinforce one another, and create an emotional atmosphere that influences how we experience the world.
I call exploring this process Moodaling.
The jukebox inside
Imagine that we’re walking around with a jukebox inside us. Different moods have different tunes. Sometimes we’re playing the happy-go-lucky shuffle; other times we’re stuck with the disgruntled blues.
The interesting part is that the music isn’t just in our heads. Our thoughts interact with our bodies. Muscular tension, breathing, sensations, and energy all contribute to the tune.
Moodaling is learning to notice that interaction and discovering how we might influence it.
Which train are you riding?
I also think of a mood as a train we’re traveling on. The scenery keeps changing, but we’re carried along by the same general atmosphere.
Sketch Stretching gives us an opportunity to stop at a station. We can look at the thoughts, associations, and bodily sensations that make up the experience.
And then there’s a possibility: we might choose another train.
We don’t necessarily need to jump onto the Happiness Express. Sometimes just getting off the Grumpy Local is progress!
Doodaling lets us explore through sketches. Wordaling lets us explore through thoughts and associations. Moodaling brings us into the ongoing interaction between mind and body that creates and sustains our moods.
The idea isn’t to force ourselves to feel a certain way. It’s to become aware of the music playing, recognize the train we’re riding, and discover that we may have more choice in the journey than we thought.
So, which train are you riding today?
