Categories: news-from-depressionland
Tags: depression, writing.
Date: 25 March 2009 23:00:25
How extraordinary that feeling is that you get when you are beginning to come out of a depression. It's as though the world's been switched on again. No one describes it so well as George Herbert in his poem The Flower. 'And now in age I bud again, After so many deaths I live and write, I once more smell the dew and rain And relish versing..' It's true, your senses, including the sense of smell, seem to come back from nowhere, and you hadn't realized they were gone until they came back. And the urge to write comes back, and words begin leaping out at you. And most of all, the sense of God's presence comes back, and all the words of faith that seemed so empty and false are suddenly full of life and meaning.
You can create the conditions for this happening, by removing yourself from burdensome tasks, and giving yourself space and little treats, but ultimately there is no way to make it happen, all you can do is wait. And when it happens, there is no way of knowing how long it will last, before the clouds come over again. Perhaps there are ways of making it last? I haven't discovered them yet, but I am still searching.