Through the magic of YouTube, you can click on this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbKJE7oQscw and watch a two minute clip from the early 1940s of Glenn Miller and his orchestra playing his famous hit: "In the Mood." Chances are (also the name 
of a Johnny Mathis hit) the lively music will put you in a good "mood." Most of the time, though, when we use the word we mean something less than positive. When someone’s "in a mood," it suggests they’re unhappy or out of sorts in the same way the coming of "weather" means a storm.
My own moods have often been baffling to me. Back in 1997, I took a 36-hour fasting & silence retreat. I kept a diary during that time and made frequent entries. The first thing I noticed was how rapidly my moods changed. I was happy and hopeful at 8:06 A.M.. At 8:09 A.M., I was worried and discouraged. Doctors tell us our moods are influenced by hormones and brain chemistry. They now have the capability to treat depression and other mood disorders with an array of pharmaceuticals. But I wonder if those chemicals help us understand who we are?…
One of the ways I know I’m in a particular mood is how other people react to me. One of my first experiences of this came as a child. I was jumping up and down so excited about something that my Dad said to me, "Gee, Chip, I hope you never lose your enthusiasm."
"Lose" my enthusiasm? I wondered, back then, how you could "lose" a way of being? Where would it go? I was an unusually hopeful and effervescent child. Adulthood brought a more complex array of moods. Many of them, including irritability, are traits I’ve tried hard to calm so as not to disturb other people’s moods.
Caregivers have a special challenge in this regard. Each day, they must raise their energy to meet the needs of others. Professionalism teaches them to contain any negative moods and replace them with a calm exterior. They must deal with the widely varying moods of patients. They also need to notice the moods of fellow caregivers. Finally, they need to keep a "weather eye" for the mood of their supervisor.
Good leaders make a daily effort to lift the spirits of their staff, regardless of how they may be feeling. Bad leaders inflict their bad moods on their staff.
One of the ways we know someone else loves us if if they can tolerate our worst moods and not abandon us the way "fair weather friends" do. This is one of life’s painful tests. It’s difficult to be around someone who’s in a bad mood – especially if the bad moods are frequent.
This is a time to reflect on moods. What are the thought processes that underly our attitudes? When is it good to give-in to a low mood and ride it out rather than trying to shake it off before it has run its natural course? How willing are we to look past a patient’s "bad mood" to see the better side of them hiding behind the mask of the moment?
We are all more than our moods. And we need to find the strength to love others when their mood may make them seem "unlovable." Love flows from a source both higher and deeper than any mood. It is that source from which true lovers drink deeply each day.
Journal of Sacred Work 
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