everybody's got the blues

Look around you. Do you see anyone who isn't down in the dumps, in the doldrums, under the weather, in a pickle, in a slump, or otherwise experiencing an existential malaise? I guess they all have their reasons, some of which can be shared with others, some of which are too private for casual conversation, a few of which might actually explain something, and some of which are beyond the pale of description.

No matter where I look, everybody's got the blues.

Some of them are clearly physical - the aches and pains in my lower back after a weekend of yard work, my son's sniffles audible on the phone, my boss's broken foot, and others far worse - but who's kidding whom, just because the symptoms are "physical" doesn't mean the causes and side-effects aren't connected to other issues, other decisions, conditions, habits, situations, and their unintended consequences.

No matter how smart or successful, everybody's got issues.

Some people wear them on their sleeve. Take my co-worker in the next cubicle - please! The sun doesn't rise without the world inflicting some grievous harm on her undeserving, put-upon self, and every day is a lament. But I'm no different, and neither is anybody else; she just happens to specialize in paying vocal, articulate, loud, and repeated attention to the unfair, stupid, painful drama that is this life.

Lawd have mercy, everybody's got the blues!

On the other hand, some people seem to strive mightily to put a bright, uplifting face on it. You know, always turning lemons into lemonade, pointing out the upside of every downer. And some have developed ways of turning their malaise into art - or some other constructive or creative or at least benign way of working through the hard, dark, unyielding stuff.

And maybe it's just the time of year, the change of seasons, turning colder, and I'm just making it worse by belaboring the fact. Yeah, I think that's it. It's the end of the summer, every day get shorter, my projects' drop-deadlines are looming, I don't have enough time to do what has to be done, my bills still need to be paid, and I'm not getting any younger. Oh, yeah, I think I've found it, now just let me writhe around in it.