Depression

by Martha MacFarland

If we hadn’t gone through depression

We would not understand how to relate to others

Empathy is gained through our pain

But we can’t stay in the state for long

For we need to manage the agony

By recognizing it, understanding it, and then releasing it

We all have to face our own suffering

To look in the mirror unmasked

To recognize that life is not easy

To understand how to learn from this lesson

Behind our forced smiles

Behind the off balance of chemicals in our body

Behind the struggle we are not sure how to manage

For our greatest gifts in our life come with pain

For in our strengths, weakness is revealed

But in humanity, we find hope in healing

Through our greatest Self

While we work to release our pain

Sometimes we need to be vulnerable

To say the words we need to admit

So they do not have power over us

We need others to understand us

For empathy is shared with one another

And self-grace reassures us it is okay to be human

We explore the ways to find the release

Talking it out with a friend

Writing it out to process our emotions

Illustrating it through art

Singing it through music

Dancing it through our bodies

Seeking professional help

For when we release

We find compassion from others, from ourselves

We start the journey of healing

By speaking our truth in our own way

By admitting that we need help

By vocalizing our pain

By recognizing our struggle within us

For the struggle within us is the struggle within all humanity

And through the mindfulness to understand ourselves

And each other

We find hope that fuels our consciousness

We set our intentions for the desires of our heart

To be whole and complete

To let the distress flow out of our hearts

To let love replace doubt

By speaking the truth

We allow our Higher Self to emerge amidst the pain

In order to find the grace, freedom, and power

To transform ourselves

By activating hope in our individual consciousness

We illuminate the Universal Consciousness

Drawing us forward outside of the shadows of depression

And into the light of higher vibrations

For our greatest gifts in our life come with pain

For in our strengths, weakness is revealed

But in humanity, we find hope in healing

Through our greatest Self