There are those days that I feel like I should be happier, smile more, walk lighter, but for some reason, I don’t. I wake up with the weight of the world on my shoulders, and it takes me a bit to remember to cast my cares on God. It takes me a minute to remember He cares for me. Sometimes, it’s not the weight of the world I feel, but the nagging sense in my gut that something isn’t right. Somewhere in the world, or perhaps in my heart. I can’t always quite put my finger on it, but it’s there; lingering like a cold you can’t get over and a persistent cough that hangs on for months. Just when you thought it was gone, it shows up again.
I call it ‘the funk’. It’s the funk of the world; the emotional vortex of hopelessness that surrounds us all and we have to choose to not get sucked into it. I realize some folks are immune to the funk. Good for ya’ll. I have to admit, I’m a bit jealous of those people. Unfortunately, I am a sensitive soul; not only my own emotions, but also the emotions and pain of others around me. I think it’s supposed to be a gift, but if I’m being honest, some days it feels like a weight that holds me under water. So, I’ve had to learn HOW to survive the strong emotions that threaten to push me under water some days.
How, you ask? I’m so glad you asked! I’m going to share my list with you of things I do that help me get out of the funk.
- Write it out. Sometimes I don’t know what’s going on inside of me until I write it out. It can help to talk about it- but for me, writing is the trick. Thus the reason I’m writing this blog post today. As a matter of fact, a lot of the songs I have written and released came out of me writing whilst in the funk. It pulled me right out of it! When we write, we use a different part of our brain. There is something about it that helps us to release emotions and make sense of what we are feeling.
- Meditate on scripture. Seriously- this is a game changer. Setting our mind on the truth, the word of God, can quickly correct our thoughts and turn our focus to God, instead of the negativity we are drawn to. I have been meditating on this scripture: When I said, “My foot is slipping,’ your unfailing love, LORD, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy. Psalm 94:17-19. Another tip here is to meditate on this scripture for weeks until you actually get it deep down in your spirit. Every time I feel the emotional under-toe threatening to pull me down again, I recite the passage until I feel a release.
- Find an outlet. Sometimes we need a physical action to accompany the thought, so we are putting action to the idea. For instance, maybe creating something that embodies the idea of God rescuing me when my foot slipped. It could be a song I write, a painting, a letter or text sent to a friend with that scripture and encouragement, taking a walk and reciting the scripture/thanking God for catching me when I slip,….there are so many ways here to do this. Let your imagination take over and you will be amazed at how much this helps you solidify the meditation theme.
- Exercise. I cannot even express how much this helps me. Even if it’s just a walk in the sunshine, it helps so much. Maybe you need to dance, or kickbox, run bleachers- whatever helps you regain emotional stability.
This isn’t meant to be an exhaustive list, but rather a short and sweet list to help you when the funk tries to overtake you. I’m pretty sure I have a Ph.D. in this! I’ll share more tips next week to help you along if you struggle in this area.
Make sure you join my email list so you don’t miss anything! Oh yeah, forgot to mention that I released my new song, ‘Holy Fire’, last week! Go download or stream it on any digital platform, or go here:
Shana Strange – Holy Fire (hearnow.com) 
