As winter weather chills the air and the days grow shorter, the blues tend to sink in and they're pretty hard to kick. We've all been subject to the troublesome blues at one time or another, whether they come in the form of heartbreak or an inexplicably gloomy mood. Just think of New Order's "Blue Monday" and you'll know the feeling. According to the Navy, the term "feeling blue" originated among deep sea Navy sailors, who would fly a blue flag on their ship if a crew member or captain was lost. Well, if you've managed to get out of bed this morning, give yourself a congratulatory pat on the back because today is the actual official Blue Monday.
The dreaded day became a concept in 2005 when Sky Travel published a press release dubbing the third Monday of January the most depressing day of the year. Though the day was calculated using numbers, it doesn't come as a surprise that it's largely considered a result of "pseudoscience."
But according to NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, the color blue doesn't have to be associated with sadness today. In a single tweet, the astronaut changed the meaning of Blue Monday for the better, adding a note of sweet optimism. In his tweet, Kelly includes a photo of the sun rising up on the Earth's horizon. The image inspires wonder, as well as the desire to so much as comprehend the beauty of the universe, to cup it in your hand. As David Bowie sang, "Planet Earth is blue and there's nothing I can do." When life on Earth grows mundane, remember the mystery that a different perspective can offer. There's nothing we can do except gaze in wonderment and realize that the infinite beauty is far superior to the blues that strike momentarily.
The Earth's shades of blue are especially beautiful to American astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, who haven't seen planet Earth from the ground in nearly 10 months. On March 27, 2015, the two embarked on a year-long space mission that has been referred to as #YearInSpace. According to NASA, the average space mission lasts half the amount of time or even less. The collaborative, international nature of the mission makes it especially historic, as it represents humankind's ability to put aside differences and discover what lies beyond our own horizons. Kelly has tweeted a couple of additional photos to remind us of it, pointing out that it's also Martin Luther King Day. Whichever way you want to look at it, today is pretty inspiring, even if it's officially Blue Monday.
