I suppose we can call this a thought for the day.
Below are two completely separate pieces of literature. One is a snippet from a French book about fighting depression without medicine and the other is a poem by a 12th century Turkish poet (which yes, I did come across in a Coldplay song).
What I like about both of these is the idea of accepting sadness. We all know sadness and have our tales of woe. Some people have been through more terrible things than others and there most certainly is no logic in who experiences what. However, we cannot let the negative experiences in life take hold of us. The snippet from the book talks about appreciating the small daily pleasures- this is so, so important. Sometimes, little wonders come out of nowhere when they are most needed. For example, I remember driving home from college one day, crying my eyes out because my IB work was getting too much. As I came around a corner I suddenly saw the most beautiful sunset. Totally involuntarily, my mind suddenly told me that a sunset will always look the same, whether I receive the best mark in the world or completely fail. With a big gulp of air I switched the self-pitying, sad music I had playing to something more upbeat and zoomed home, singing my heart out, with a totally different outlook. Life is very generous if you accept the gifts.
The poem talks about welcoming the negative feelings. Negative feelings are all part of living. To meet dark thoughts ‘at the door laughing’ does seem like a difficult task, but perhaps we should at least wave them away laughing. It’s like that awful saying “it’ll be okay in the end and if it’s not okay then it’s not the end”. Granted, anyone who ever says that to cheer someone up should seriously rethink their approach to empathy. However, it’s true. Even the saddest or most shameful times in my life can now be looked back on with a smile.
Fight Stress, anxiety and depression without medicine or psychoanalysis
However, there are happy people who lead harmonious lives. Usually, they feel that life is generous. They know to appreciate their surroundings and the small daily pleasures: meals, sleep, the serenity of nature, the beauty of a city. They like to create and to fight, they take action on objects, projects and relationships. These people are not part of a cult or a particular religion. They are found in the four corners of the world. Some are rich, others are not, some are married, others live alone, some have particular talents, others are completely ordinary. They have all known failure, disappointment, difficult moments. Nobody escapes these. But, by large, these people seem to negotiate obstacles better: one might say that they have a particular aptitude to bounce back in the face of adversity, to give meaning to their existence, as if they maintain a more intimate relationship with themselves, with others and with what they have chosen to do with their life.
David Servan-Schreiber
(I translated this myself from French so apologies for any awkwardness)
The Guest House
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honourably.
He may be clearing
you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
Rumi