It's okay to feel blue sometimes.......

(This painting is called ''Blue in Green'', and the reason it is called

that is because I painted it while I was listening to Miles Davis

track ''Blue in Green'' on the album ''Kind of Blue''.)

Perhaps you, like me, may have days when you

just feel ''kinda blue''.

Sometimes there may be a definitive reason for

why one may be feeling blue, but in my experience,

sometimes that's just the way one feels.

Some may classify feeling blue as a ''negative'' feeling,

a feeling best avoided, but is it not possible that

experiencing the occasional bout of feeling blue may

actually contribute something ''positive'' to our lives?

In other words, can something positive come from feeling 

blue every now and then?

According to brain research and with the help of fMRI imaging

we supposedly now know that the answer is yes.

Here are some of the benefits suggested: 

(Bouts of sadness, not prolonged episodes or depression)

Improved memory and attention to detail. Apparently on

bright, shiny, sunny days we tend to forget things that

 on somber, rainy, gray days we remember.

So, what they are suggesting is that being ''overly'' positive

it is possible for us to be less focused and attentive

when we are processing ''information''.

Sadness can improve our ability to make ''sound'' judgments.

''Positive'' bias can cloud our thinking, as in; ''she'll be right''

even if there is a niggling feeling that it won't.

Sadness can increase our sense of motivation.

Suggestion here is that when we are feeling happy we

are less motivated to engage in something that may

 alter our mood, whereas when we

are feeling sad, we are often motivated to do

something that improve our state of mind/feelings.

Sadness can improve social interaction in some circumstances.

A person who understands and has experienced sadness

is often more patient and compassionate than someone

who ''knows'' (is that even possible?) only happiness.

(Just to be clear, I have paraphrased others views and suggestions

so far.)

Feeling blue now and then, judging from my own

experiences and from speaking with others, can bring with

it benefits depending upon how the person experiencing the sadness

deals with it.

As human beings we experience many different kinds of emotions,

and sadness is one of them. Recognizing our own sadness we can

recognize it in others, and when we do,

we will hopefully respond to someone who

is feeling blue with compassion, patience and understanding.

After all, some of the most beautiful works of art created by

 humans, often have tinges of sadness, and or melancholy in them.

''The word 'happy' would lose its meaning if it were not

balanced by the word sadness.''  (Carl Jung)