Tag Archives: depressed

Bandy

Bandy: (v) to pass from one to another or back and forth; give and take; to bandy wordsDictionary B

An optimist may feel ordained by the angels to bring hope to any given situation, but becomes ineffective because being in the presence of a pessimist causes him or her to be depressed.

This leaves the realist sitting on the sidelines, shaking his or her head over the foolishness of both extremes.

Thus we have the standoff on Earth which promotes more self-righteousness than progress.

  • Optimists believe they are good.
  • Pessimists contend that evil is too strong.
  • And realists are ignored because they don’t offer any tools on how to tear down the wall.

It has come time in our season on Earth to begin to bandy about ideas which are enriching to the human heart, without trying to turn our emotions into mere marshmallow cream.

What do I desire to be bandied about in the general populace?

  1. Human beings are neither good nor evil. They ascend from dust to become earth, to hopefully reach for the stars.
  2. Forgiveness is not resolution. It is the perfect way to ignore stupidity while you’re waiting for karma to expose it.
  3. Men and women are not different. As long as we insist they are, we will treat one better than the other.
  4. We are not bound by or to our culture. Rather, we are blessed with customs which are endearing but also commanded by life to find similarities with all our brothers and sisters.
  5. And finally, revenge doesn’t work because it has no end. Sooner or later someone has to scream to the surrounding chaos, “What the hell? Let’s move on.” The sooner we do this, the lower the death toll.

These are just a few ideas I present which are not optimistic, pessimistic or realistic.

I would venture to call them humanistic.

 

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Awakening

Awakening: (n) an act or moment of becoming suddenly aware of something.dictionary with letter A

There are minor disruptions to our emotional and spiritual sleepiness, but there is only one Great Awakening.

I know it may be popular to complicate the life journey, making it seem like an unholy maze, but really, the secret to human interaction is so simple that people almost feel the need to complicate it to convince themselves of their intellectual superiority.

This Great Awakening came to me about thirty-five years ago, but I have to constantly revive it and refurbish it every thirty-five minutes. If I don’t, I start believing the lies that infest my heart, which I have condemned, but they still refuse to take their baggage and leave.

  • What is the Great Awakening?
  • What will change the world?

A simple statement: “It’s not just me.”

There you go.

No matter what happens, no matter what situation comes up–whether you’re dealing with nation against nation or husband negotiating with wife–it’s not just me. Other people have feelings, other people have needs, other people want to escape depression.

So whatever issue comes up, rather than espousing some reverent scripture or proclaiming my own prowess or knowledge, I insert the awakening phrase: It’s not just me. Other people have requirements also.

And if I’m going to enjoy certain privileges and blessings, I must be aware that others may also desire completion.

When we’re dealing with Iran, it’s not just us.

When we’re dealing with ISIS, it’s not just us.

Somehow in the midst of our righteous anger, we should muster the righteous wisdom to realize that we are not alone, and therefore cannot act alone.

It’s not just me.

Freedom was not created as my playground with a gate on it to keep you out.

It is the Great Awakening.

It is the answer.

And when I allow myself to realize that it’s not just me, I become both a better person … and a possible friend.

 

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Attic

Attic: (n) a space or room just below the roof of a building.dictionary with letter A

I grew up in a two-bedroom house with a mother, father and four brothers.

If you’re wondering if the space provided failed to meet the requirements of the number suggested, you would be absolutely right.

So as a young boy, I was always looking for new places to go, which I felt provided me opportunities to escape the common cloister.

First was our garage, which was very tiny–not large enough to hold a car and a lawn mower.

We had a huge back yard, which was very nice, but my father had haphazardly planted trees, which were now growing everywhere, making it somewhat impossible to find any space for an actual playground.

There was one enclosure of solitude: our attic.

To get to this room, you had to pull down a set of wooden stairs in the ceiling of our garage, climb up carefully and wiggle through the tiny hole into a space about twice the size of the interior of a car. Our house was not insulated, so as soon as you got up into that territory, you were either freezing in the winter or boiling in the summer.

I didn’t care. I liked to go up there and look through the stuff.

Then one day I realized that I was not surrounded by treasures, but rather, rejects–items which were no longer found worthy to co-exist with the mortals.

  • Maybe they were outdated.
  • Maybe they were ugly.
  • Maybe they had worn out their usefulness.

But mostly they were abandoned.

Pictures, frames, papers and periodicals, periodically boiling and freezing.

After a while, I got depressed being up there. I had this strange sensation that someone would come, pull up the ladder and close me in, deeming it necessary to have one less person in the house and deciding that I was more suited for the rejects on high.

It spooked me.

I know that Anne Frank once found solace in an attic, but for me it was merely a reminder that when people get tired of things, deciding to hoard, they take them to a place where they’re out of the way … and soon forgotten.

 

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Antidepressant

dictionary with letter A

 

Antidepressant: (adj) a drug used to alleviate depression.

I always become aggravated when I’m told that certain subjects can not be discussed because none of us totally understand the height, depth or breadth of the situation.

Since my birth, I have been a novice, and remain so to this day.

I have never been an expert on anything, nor would I claim to be one, even if I possessed the benefit of a diploma.

Yet to remove discussion from the table is to close the door on the accidental discoveries which have blessed human progress. Yes, most of the things that we have come up with over the years were derived from the aftermath of “spitball sessions.”

So when it comes to the issue of depression, to complicate the matter by refusing to seek the simplest solution first seems absolutely irresponsible.

Candidly, I have been depressed in my life.

  • It was not due to a chemical imbalance.
  • It was not caused by my upbringing suppressing my true natural ego.
  • It was because I handled disappointment poorly and was not given the exhortation to press on to the next opportunity, which could bolster my confidence.

There is no quick cure-all.

I am certainly not saying that there aren’t physiological reasons for psychological struggles. But simply because someone who is naturally depressed tends to feel better if they’re doped up does not mean that other avenues should not be attempted first.

When it comes to solving any problem, here’s what I think:

1. Is there a simple solution right in front of us that we cannot see right now because we are blinded by our fear or inadequacy?

2. Is there a possibility that through study, conversation and even a certain degree of faith, we could uncover a better path without instituting drastic measures?

3. Having exhausted the practical, can we cautiously and nearly reverently pursue a treatment of a more intrusive nature?

America is too intoxicated by chemicals and constantly trying to introduce new ones, old ones and ones yet to be approved.

Sometimes it really is as simple as having someone else to give a damn … and talk with you.

 

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Anoxia

dictionary with letter A

Anoxia: (n.) an absence of oxygen.

I felt like crap, if by saying that, you mean a discarded pile of useless waste lying in the corner, needing disposal.

I didn’t know why.

I knew I was sick. That doesn’t help very much. Being aware of illness only makes you clamor for a quick solution to get back to normalcy.

Sometimes that’s possible. A good night’s sleep is often the perfect elixir. But I had several opportunities to sleep and felt no better.

So I went to the doctor, who sent me to the hospital, and the first thing they did was put oxygen into my nostrils.

I felt very stupid having tubes coming out of my nose.

They explained that my oxygen level was not sufficient for me to get the air I needed to recover from my physical ailment. I tried to argue, but after a while felt silly objecting to something as simple as a breathing mechanism.

It was astounding.

Within an hour, just having oxygen put into my body and having the levels rise, made me feel so much better. It gave me the will to want to get well again instead of commiserating over a gloom of pending doom.

It was just oxygen–yet I needed it. I wasn’t getting it from the air. My lungs apparently had decided they were part-time labor.

But the introduction of the good stuff set in motion “good stuff” for my healing.

It got me thinking.

We’re so critical of people who are depressed, angry, poor or unmotivated.

  • We never consider that there’s a certain emotional oxygen required, the ability to tell the truth without fear.
  • How about spiritual oxygen? God is our God so we can find out how to be better people.
  • Certainly there’s a mental oxygen, which clears out the cobwebs in our brain, allowing fresh ideas to seep through.
  • And the simple physical oxygen of breathing, exercising and eating well can make us feel invincible.

I’m no longer afraid to be in need–because discovering the better things I can breathe in empowers me … to be made whole.

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Aficionado

Words from Dic(tionary)

dictionary with letter A

 

Aficionado: (n.) a person who is very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about an activity, subject or past-time

I am almost certain that these two particular words NEVER, or perhaps better stated, RARELY, work together.

I am talking about knowledgeable and enthusiastic.

In my life I have encountered people who were knowledgeable, but the information they attained through schooling or experience had disembowled their enthusiasm.

Likewise, I have been in the company of those ablaze with enthusiasm, only to discover that their limited scope of comprehension had cursed the project to the great pit of ignorance.

Yes, it is a rarity to discover a human being who is both knowledgeable and enthusiastic, therefore fulfilling Webster’s definition of aficionado.

It is perhaps one of my primary goals in life–to learn the inner workings of my craft without becoming jaded, cynical or bored.

  • For I will tell you, the worst person in the world to teach you about the Constitution, government and the great American dream is a politician.
  • I have never found ministers to be a tremendous source for bolstering one’s faith through their personal testimony.
  • I certainly would not want to discuss lifelong love and fidelity with a prostitute.
  • In turn, becoming excited about the wonderful choices available in a restaurant is not always accomplished by talking to the chef or the owner.
  • And needless to even say, having an inspiring dialogue about the glory of music is doomed to failure if you are going to chat with the first violinist of a symphony.

My goal? To learn to do what I do better–while still maintaining a childlike heart, as if it were the first day on the job.

People often ask me  if I get tired, sharing the same stories and songs. You can sense that part of them WANTS me to be burned out. But there is a little boy or girl inside, who instead wants to leap for joy if I am still thrilled to be on my playground. So it is always my magnificent pleasure to inform them that each song I sing and each word I speak surprises me every night with new significance.

I would love to be knowledgeable. Just not snarly.

I desire to be enthusiastic. Could I do that without being inept?

“Aficionado” should be the goal of everyone who wants to see the world get better.

To do that, we have to learn the truth and allow it to set us free … instead of making us depressed.