You ever had to wade through molasses?
Or maybe tar? Or glue?
Me neither. But know what it’s like.
A single step is an effort. Raising your hand or arm is tiring. Keeping your head up is exhausting.
Now, imagine if the molasses was on the inside.
Imagine it weighing things down. Normal automatic processes are harder. Your appetite slows. Breathing is a struggle. Smiling or looking someone in the eye is a titanic undertaking. The molasses makes everything heavier.
Now imagine the molasses in your head.
It binds to thoughts, slowing them to a standstill. Feelings get sucked under. Logic gets glued in place.
Any activity is a drain. It feels like there’s no action you can take that is going to be freeing, liberating, easy. Because even thinking is an effort. And forcing action is next to impossible.
This is depression.
You can’t fight it. Your body is too heavily bound. You can’t grin and bear it, because smiling sits heavily on your face. You can’t think your way out, because the thoughts are caught.
So, how do you get out?
By waiting.
The molasses isn’t going anywhere. But it’s also not a motive force. It weighs you down, but it is static. By struggling, by resisting, you are tiring yourself out. Forcing painful friction. This pain adds to the inertia, making you feel worse.
Be still. Be accepting.
Look at where the molasses clings. Wait for gravity to do it’s thing. Observe it as it gathers and gloops and falls to the floor.
By being patient and present, you free yourself of the painful struggle. And when it is gone, you will have an appreciation for the freedom others can take for granted.
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