Once upon a time I was visiting with a very wise man. We were discussing a friend we had in common. OK, it happened to be an ex husband of mine who had done something exceptionally stupid and I said, "Why I thought I knew him better than that!" To which he replied, "You never know anyone. You only know of them. You only know what they let you see." Good point!
I recall standing at the grave of my mothers last husband and her saying, "Who was that man?" He had presented himself as a lonely widower with a son and a daughter and no other relation in the world. The funeral had been well attended by brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles and a former parole officer. She never knew him.
So this morning at 4:15 AM when the eyelids opened for the day, I thought of this and I wondered, "Who do I have in this world that I really know? " I came up with nobody. So I took this thought to the next level and asked myself, "Who am I? Does anyone really know me?' Once more I came up with a negative answer.
I know some of you out there think you know me, but do you? I may not be who you think I am. I present a face to the public and a face to my friends that may not reveal the depths of my soul. I appear to be very well adjusted, compassionate, caring, honest, giving, kind and so many other things, but you know little about the person who lives in this body. I have lots of friends, but do I? What is a friend? When I am lonely, who do I turn to for companionship? Who do I trust with my deepest secrets? When the dark abyss of the deepest recesses of my mind cry out for comfort, who do I reach for? When I am sinking in despair at the long road ahead, who reaches to lift me up?
When your phone rings and I am on the other end and I ask, "Whatcha' doing?" Is this really what I mean or am I saying "I am so lonely I can not think straight. I am sinking in depression. Save me!" The sad part of life is that no matter how transparent people seem to be, they are not.
I have learned that depression is depression. It comes. It stays. It lifts and it leaves, but it comes back. How is depression lived with every day? I do not know, but I do know it is fairly common in this day and age. I read one article that said, "Depression is like a big black dog that is always there and when he lays on you, you can not get him off and you can not move." I guess that sort of explained it for me.
I guess the point I am trying to make here is that we should always make the effort to be kind to each other because we never know what is going on in another person's life and mind. Watching a baby at play may make someone happy, but it may make someone sad. A cheery, "Good morning!" may make one person feel special, and make the next one think you are nuts. So what is the answer? I do not have it, for all my years of experience.
My advice? Keep plugging away. All that glitters is not gold. Everything that goes up, must come down. Let a smile be your umbrella. And most importantly,
I recall standing at the grave of my mothers last husband and her saying, "Who was that man?" He had presented himself as a lonely widower with a son and a daughter and no other relation in the world. The funeral had been well attended by brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles and a former parole officer. She never knew him.
So this morning at 4:15 AM when the eyelids opened for the day, I thought of this and I wondered, "Who do I have in this world that I really know? " I came up with nobody. So I took this thought to the next level and asked myself, "Who am I? Does anyone really know me?' Once more I came up with a negative answer.
I know some of you out there think you know me, but do you? I may not be who you think I am. I present a face to the public and a face to my friends that may not reveal the depths of my soul. I appear to be very well adjusted, compassionate, caring, honest, giving, kind and so many other things, but you know little about the person who lives in this body. I have lots of friends, but do I? What is a friend? When I am lonely, who do I turn to for companionship? Who do I trust with my deepest secrets? When the dark abyss of the deepest recesses of my mind cry out for comfort, who do I reach for? When I am sinking in despair at the long road ahead, who reaches to lift me up?
When your phone rings and I am on the other end and I ask, "Whatcha' doing?" Is this really what I mean or am I saying "I am so lonely I can not think straight. I am sinking in depression. Save me!" The sad part of life is that no matter how transparent people seem to be, they are not.
I have learned that depression is depression. It comes. It stays. It lifts and it leaves, but it comes back. How is depression lived with every day? I do not know, but I do know it is fairly common in this day and age. I read one article that said, "Depression is like a big black dog that is always there and when he lays on you, you can not get him off and you can not move." I guess that sort of explained it for me.
I guess the point I am trying to make here is that we should always make the effort to be kind to each other because we never know what is going on in another person's life and mind. Watching a baby at play may make someone happy, but it may make someone sad. A cheery, "Good morning!" may make one person feel special, and make the next one think you are nuts. So what is the answer? I do not have it, for all my years of experience.
My advice? Keep plugging away. All that glitters is not gold. Everything that goes up, must come down. Let a smile be your umbrella. And most importantly,
You cannot sprinkle showers of happiness on other people without getting a few drops on yourself!
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