I was in a bad mood, and for several good reasons: money worries, too much work and the looming end of summer. That kind of stuff.
Many of us face such stress. It’s normal. And there are a host of experts who make a killing out of proselytizing to us in their self-help books about their solutions of dreaming bigger, working harder, simplifying, finding religion (and tithing) or walking off into the wilderness.
There are many things to try when you’re in a funk, but until you find what works for you, if anything, you can be unpleasant to be around, a grump, an asshole.
And your kids will notice, and your wife.
Mine did.
“Put this away,” I grumbled. “This house is a mess! Who left this here?”
My kids were startled. My wife just laughed.
I continued to moan, but somehow something got me out of the house and into the car and down to the beach and out into the surf, where the misery slowly subsided and the joy of life returned, and after a couple hours of riding waves I returned to the beach where I sat down with my family to eat the sandwiches I had made in my strop, and my youngest daughter noticed my change of temper and said it all too well: “If Daddy’s in a bad mood, just bring him to the beach. See, now he’s happy!”
And there you have it. That’s my self-help advice — and it’s as free as the beach.
