When the Fall season arrives, it comes with warm, comforting recipes and new visual landscapes to admire. It can also bring Seasonal Affective Depression that creeps in like the cloudy skies.

Seasonal Affective Depression is thought to be caused by lack of bright sunlight. If you find yourself feeling blue and gloomy on days that are grey, it’s worth looking into. Most people who have it, may not even be aware that’s the cause of how they are feeling. On the other hand, rain and gloom cheers some people up. They find they have lots of energy on those days.

I also encourage you to practice meditation as a way to feel better. Meditation can be done anywhere, such as a walking meditation.

Sometimes a new environment or a porch swing can have a similar effect. Here are some pictures from my “sabbatical” in Ocean Springs, MS earlier this month with my beloved little cat, Kwan Yin. She was my sabbatical companion while I was there.