The pursuit of contentment

In the words of Alfred Pennyworth ‘Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.’ This rings true for every time we mess up, get rejected or even when circumatances outside of our control makes us fail at something or fail someone.
Every obstacle is a learning opportunity but we sometimes get so jaded and cynical that, in our resilience, we just push through, forgetting to stop and recenter ourselves and being mindful of why/how that obstacle was there to overcome.
How do we learn if we just keep moving forward? And how do we move forward if we keep having to stop and learn?
Happiness as a concept is abstract, as a feeling its fleeting. Can we always be happy? I’d venture no, we have moments of happiness, an event, a person, an act of kindness can make us happy for a moment but we don’t remain elated, that isn’t possible and clinging on to that moment may even potentially stop us from further moments of happiness.
How about being content? Being content as a default setting is a much more realistic endeavour. We can be content in life and have fleeting moments of happiness mixed in with fleeting moments of sadness, all necessary and healthy ingredients to life’s delicious recipe of zanyness.
We all have goals, short, medium, long term that we would like to fulfill, things that would ostensibly make us ‘happy’ but the pursuit of happiness can leave us blind as to what we already have.
Be content with what you have, strive to do more, to better your station in life but remember that you are already in a better position than you were before. Be good to yourself for what you have already given yourself and be grateful to those who have contributed to it.
Didn’t think I’d ever write such a short post and still think I could illustrate my point better but its 2 a.m, I wrote a post after months of silence so I pat myself on the back and say Jolly Good!

Rambles about depression

We’ve all suffered from depression at one point or another of our lives, we may not have known it then and chalked it off to a monday morning blues or post holiday blues or even PMS. For the majority of people, depression can be shrugged off but there is a sizeable % of the general population who cannot just drop it.
According to various sources, as many as 121 Million people worldwide have some form of depression and only 30 million of them have access to an effective source of treatment.

‘What is depression?’ is a question I’m often asked. The true answer is I wish I bloody knew. It can be characterised by deep sadness, lack of energy and will power to do even menial tasks or even getting up in the morning. Some people finds that if affects their devision making ability. The above are only the most common symptoms, there are so many variations that it would probably take a mainframe to list out the permutations. infinity sign.
A biological explanation could be: the chemicals that keep our brains functioning and keep us ‘sane’, tend to balance themselves out naturally, when depressed, those chemicals are produced in fluctuating amounts, therefore causing the brain to act abnormally. Blah! Maybe that’s why there are meds for depression, to regulate the flow of chems in the brain.

It is a legally recognised as an illness, which is awesome coz now if you have depression, people can’t say you’re just CRAZAY! Although you’ll probably think of yourself as just CrAZAY!!!

Who suffers from depression?
Everyone…although those who have a history of abuse, whether physical, sexual or emotional tend to be prone to it. Women are twice as likely to suffer due to having higher levels of estrogen than men. People who have participated in substance abuse are also known to suffer from depression.

The reduced confidence that comes with depression is perhaps what causes the latter. If i’m not sure of my own ability then I can’t put any weight behind my decisions so I just don’t decide.

Is depression fun?
NO.