Chances are you're not having quite so many devastatingly low days now. You're functioning a little better overall, but you're still not ready to run any marathons yet or run for public office. Don't worry about it - this recovery takes time, and it happens so subtly you may not notice it till someone else points it out. You're probably still not eager to spend too much time outside your home, but the cyberworld provides many diversions (you can wander around it in your pajamas, and no one will know). I've found that things of beauty are both soothing and refreshing at this point, so that's where we'll start first.

Art/History

• The best place to start your art cybertour is, of course, the Louvre. There is also a Louvre section at the Web Museum, Paris. This page also provides three tours of Paris.
  

   

• The State Hermitage Museum has an incredible collection, and much of it can be viewed online.

   

• Go to Vatican City to see Michaelangelo's Sistine Chapel.
  

   

• You can "virtually" visit the Musee D'Orsay with their panoramic viewer.

   

• The Museum of Fine Arts, one of my favorite places when I lived in Boston, has a website.

   

• Visit The Chagall Windows, Marc Chagall's stunning stained-glass windows depicting Jacob's blessings to his sons, the Twelve Tribes of Israel.

   

• The Smithsonian Institution

   

• Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

   

• MuseumSpot is a guide to museums and other cultural information online.

   

• Galleria degli Uffizi

   

• ArtMuseum.net has virtual exhibits.

   

• National Gallery of Art

   

• Artcyclopedia is a fine art search engine.

   

• If modern art is your style, go to the Museum of Modern Art's web page.

   

• Art Crimes: The Writing on the Wall showcases graffiti art.

   

• Entropy8 is an online gallery.

   

• The Vincent Van Gogh Information Gallery showcases his paintings and letters.

Fitness(Mental and Physical)

• Paradoxically, it's during this time when most depressed people are beginning to feel better that some attempt suicide. This is due to the fact that while someone is profoundly depressed, they don't have the energy or clear mental processes necessary to plan and carry out a suicide. Please remember, if you begin to have suicidal thoughts, that there are people available to help you deal with your feelings. SA\VE - Suicide Awareness\Voices of Education is a web page which provides suicide education and support. See the Suicide Links section for more resources.

   

• The philosophy behind holistic medicine, that we should treat the body as a whole entity instead of just addressing the sick "part", is appropriate both for treating depression and for this stage in your recovery. De-stressing is important, since it will relieve the depression to some extent. To this end, think about exercising. I know it's hard to even keep up with normal stuff, but even a half hour walking a few times a week should help. I hate to exercise, but I've been forcing myself to do it for the last couple of years since it makes such a difference in whether I slide back into depression during stressful times.

   

  
  • Ask Dr Weil: Relaxation has some good suggestions for de-stressing.
  • If you're not ready for aerobic exercise yet, get your body ready by doing some stretches. Yoga Class and Yoga.com have a lot of good info.

   

• Also think about whether you've been treating your body well, nutrition-wise. Eating well can help your antidepressants to work better. Nutritiously Gourmet will help you plan meals that are good for you and taste good.

   

• You might be ready to stretch spiritually or re-discover your faith. About.com's Religion section is a good place to start. The ORCT (Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance) page covers many aspects and issues of many different religions. Interlude: An Internet Retreat is a site with inspirational meditations, prayers and poetry. My favorite is the Native American prayers.

The World Outside

• Google Earth is addictive. Using it, you can view satellite photos of almost anywhere in the world. Some of the most popular spots are the Grand Canyon, the Lincoln Memorial, Venice and the Golden Gate Bridge. You can also view the Forbidden City in exquisite detail.
• Use Earth Explorer to explore the Earth from outer space.

   

• Castles on the Web is a well-designed site of links to castles all around the world.
  

  

• Claude Monet's Garden, Giverny shows the real-life inspiration for the beautiful series of paintings.

   

• Dale Coyner's Appalachian Highways might be your cup of tea.

   

• The Natural History Museum site has many fascinating interactive exhibits online. I was fortunate enough to visit the real thing when I was in London.

   

• Graham Hawker's journal of his Journey to Beijing depicts the trip in pictures and text.
  

   

  • Eiffel Tower
  • Manihi Pearl Beach Resort in French Polynesia
  • British Antartic Vessel on a science cruise
  • Monterey Bay Aquarium
  • Animal Webcams at the National Zoo
Some of my favorite cams:

• Earthcam is a webcam site that's very well organized.
  

 

• Africam also has some great cams.
• The World Heritage Tour site has 360 degree views of places like an Egyptian pharaoh's tomb and the Forbidden City in Beijing.
• Take A Tour of My Garden and look at Cheryl Netter's beautiful roses.
  

  

• Travels with Samantha

   

• You can take a virtual tour of the New York Botanical Garden
• You can read about the voyage of the Endeavor in the Papers of Sir Joseph Banks.

News

You're probably becoming more interested in what's going on in the world, even if you're not quite ready to deal with it face-to-face. Below are some good news sources on the Web.

• CANOE
• CNN
• Guardian Unlimited
• The MoJo Wire
• New York Times
• The Paperboy
• Reuters
• The Times
• USA Today
• The Washington Post
• The Wire
• WorldNews.com

Music

• In keeping with this page's theme of bringing the outside world in to soothe and stimulate you, I highly recommend listening to sounds of nature, either alone or mixed with new-age music. I myself love listening to either the sounds of the ocean, to rain or a mountain stream (hard to believe I wasn't born under a water sign!).
  

  

• Seal is one of my favorite artists. I think he's a good choice for your frame of mind. Here are some clips from his music in RealAudio:
  • Don't Cry - from Seal (2nd album)
  • Prayer for the Dying - from Seal (2nd album)
  • Human Beings - from Human Beings
• Sarah McLachlan is another of my favorite musical artists. Her painfully beautiful music and lyrics are a good balance for you right now; not too sad, but not abrasively upbeat.
  • Possession - from Fumbling Towards Ecstasy
  • Building a Mystery - from Surfacing
  • I Will Remember You - from Mirrorball

Reading

• The Power of Myth is a life-altering book that sprang from a series of conversations between Bill Moyers and mythologist/storyteller Joseph Campbell.

Socializing

• How about just "pretend" socializing? The Sims is a game that lets you create a family or a single person. You can either make them into an anti-social loner or the life of the party. It's very addictive.
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• You're probably not ready to meet people in real life, so how about getting to know some people online?

   

  • Chelle is an incandescent soul who has created Chelle's Cozy Corner, a "meandering mix of strange pages". She raises llamas, creates wonderful web pages and does Innerviews, my favorite of which is Max A' La Macho. She also has links to many other pages with a mystical, spiritual bent.
    

     

  • Online games are a good way to socialize without going outside. I play a Halfling druid, among other characters, on Everquest.

     

  • The WELL is the original online community, where the talk is intelligent.
  • Cafe Utne is another online community with intelligent discussion.
  • bianca: the alternative online community

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