SURPRISE! Optimistic folks get depressed. And, maybe a whole lot more than anyone ever hears about… this is important. It is so important that I feel it needs to be addressed, right now. Some of us “optimists” can become preoccupied in our attempts to lift the energy of those around us, that we negate expressing our own very real feelings of sadness. Because, Shit… if the rest of the world can’t remember their “happy place” I sure as hell can’t let them know I’ve lost sight of mine!

Sharing in the many joyful aspects of living is a great art, many people do it very well and I admire them a great deal.  Learning how to harness a positive outlook on life is invaluable personally and socially. It can help us find perspective in times of inner turmoil but, it isn’t everything. It certainly helps in finding a lighthearted approach to some of the “heavier” stuff we find ourselves going through but, it doesn’t negate the reality of depression.  We all go through “it” in our own time and finding the strength to claw our way back to optimism, can be challenging… for anyone (whether or not that someone is inclined to go towards the light (or not)! 

And, that’s why I’m drawn to write this post. I feel it vital to share what is being experienced… in honest ways. And, honestly… it isn’t always gonna be warm and fuzzy. We can all find resonance in each other if, instead of withdrawing from the truth, we learn to better share in our struggles. It remains a fact that no matter how an “optimistic person” may be perceived (or however well they convince themselves that “all is well”) there are important times when being depressed is the perfect scenario. “Hey… (sometimes) that’s just the bitch of living!”

Make “It” Poetic, whatever “It” is:

 The truth is, I want my devastation to move me. I want it to get under my skin, like Joplin, and teach me more about everything like Kerouac!  I want it to wear red lipstick and a cheetah printed dress that shows off its curves…. and I want it to make me say “DAMN!”  I want my depression to be poetic. All of the heights and the depths… I want it to ooze with something I just don’t  “get”!

Continue reading The Bitch of Living: Befriending Depression in 10,000 words. →