The Gift of Depression
As a society, we tend to treat depression as if it were a weed that must be eradicated from the garden of a “happy” life. But what if depression were a gift? Could it be that depression has the potential to bless us in some way?
My personal answer is yes. I experience depression as a blessing, but only when I allow it to bless me instead of opposing, denying, or avoiding it.
Please note that I’ve never been diagnosed with “clinical depression,” nor have I experienced depression so deep that I couldn’t get out of bed or couldn’t stop thinking about killing myself. (If you ever feel depression that severe, please get help immediately. You don’t have to go it alone.)
This is about the kind of depression that makes you feel unmotivated or hopeless but not suicidal. You might call it “the blues,” ennui, melancholy, the doldrums, or a funk. Perhaps severe depression is, in some cases, the result of not allowing these less severe forms to give their gifts.
For me, receiving the gift of depression begins with trusting that it has a positive purpose. It’s there to indicate that I’m off course in some way, and it pulls the wind from my sails so I don’t keep going in the wrong direction. If I heed that warning — if I give myself time to question my thoughts and connect with my deeper intentions and needs — the dark cloud of depression will often lift quite suddenly, allowing the bright light of inspiration to shine through and illuminate my heart’s desires.
Improve Your Groove
Today, think about a situation or condition in your life that’s “depressing” to you, then ask yourself, “If this depressed feeling were trying to give me a valuable message, what might that message be?”
Don’t try to figure out the answer in your head; allow an answer to arise from wherever you feel the depression in your body. Give the answer time to evolve into a nuanced understanding that gives you a sense of inner peace.
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