This week in my Coping and Healing groups, people told dark stories of medical problems, systemic injustices, and abuse, and yet were still able to lighten up with laughter. At the end of these groups, the members shared how much it helped to lighten up, even for those brief moments.
I shall now do my best to lighten up in this blog post.
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Thanks to the Daily Bitch, I’m going to lighten up and say that’s it’s okay to have a day when I accomplish nothing.
Here’s what I find when I search for “lighten up” on YouTube.
Thanks to all who help me lighten up, including YOU!!!
The Year(s) of Living Non-Judgmentally 
May your moods be just where you want and need them to be today, Ann!
Thanks for the light you bring, my good friend!
I’ll agree with “lighten up” when it’s used to mean “take it easy on yourself.” Unfortunately it can be delivered in a way that implies “your worries [fears, anxieties, feelings, etc] are ridiculous and you need to stop taking things so personally/seriously,” in which case I’d like to ban that phrase.
Thanks for another enlightening comment, Debbie.
lightening up, in every sense of the phrase, helps everything feel better
A string of fairy lights can last a long time on AA batteries, I have found. This is something that didn’t exist when I was a child!
same and I absolutely love them
I submit that there is a big difference between telling someone to lighten up (never well received, in my experience) and doing something that helps them lighten up.
Well put, Barbara.
I like that there’s a “Lighten up!” sign among milkweed plants. They’re very important to monarch butterflies and I think butterflies are one of the ways nature reminds us to lighten up.
You’re very important to me, Chris.