ExploreTruth

I heard a commercial the other day for a drug called cymbalta.  It claimed that if you were feeling grief, guilt, or pain, that you might be a candidate for this drug.  I don’t know about you, but depression commercials make me angry.  But that’s another story.  The commercial had me thinking.

The last few weeks I have been a little more quiet on explore truth, not because I’m clinically depressed, or because I haven’t been thinking about the question of God, or grappling with what and how I believe what I claim to believe.  BUT, I have been working through some recent health concerns that have gotten me down a bit.

And to make things more interesting, the last doctor I visited recently suggested a depression medication because he couldn’t seem to find the answer for the cause of some back pain issues I’ve been having.

I’ve always been relatively healthy, so this is new territory for me.  Going into detail on my particular health issues isn’t the particular focus of this post. However, learning how to respond to the inevitable curve balls, health and otherwise, that life can throw your way, is something worth looking at.

So what have I learned?

I’ve learned first hand that the our health care system has serious flaws.

Not only does not having insurance magnify issues of a marginalized class of people in this country, but a system skewed towards reacting to health symptoms, as opposed to being motivated towards preventative, and more holistic cures, is also vexing.

I am no expert on the nuances of what is right or wrong with America’s health care system, but my recent visits to the doctors office have also bred there fair share of frustration at how little care some doctors express in, well, caring.

All of this has further solidified my desire to become more educated on the measures I, and individuals like myself can take when it comes to understanding their own health, and become their own health experts as it pertains to growing in the area of illness prevention.

I’ve also learned that just because you prefer the walls of your room to close in around you, or wish that the escape of a nights sleep could last just a few hours longer, doesn’t mean that ones dreams, hopes, and purposes go away.

In fact, for me, my recent bout with these shadows of uncertainty, anxiety, and discomfort, have served me with moments of even deeper reflection.  All of which have begun to focus my attention on one of life’s underestimated skills:

Learning how to exercise the power of choice to keep moving forward despite the negative stimuli that life exerts on you.

I am learning that a lot can happen in the space between the things that happen to you, and how you respond to them.  Better understanding this space, separates the life long victim from the overcomer.  Maybe even a life of depression from a season of despair.

I also have been reminded of the importance of not taking the good times for granted. For some reason that has motivated a renewed interest in intentionally remembering all of the good, and awe inspiring things that surround me everyday.

Without pretending to know the depths and plight of true depression, I know that life touches everyone with moments of pain or sadness.  Aren’t we all trying to make it through? Aren’t we all trying to have more moments of laughter and joy despite inevitable pain and uncertainty?  Don’t we all experience those moments when the sounds of music are just warmer, or a kind word of encouragment goes farther than the giver could have ever intended?

I think thats why we draw strength from those who have survived great adversity and continued on.  We desire to know how they did it, and if we could ever manage to do the same.  Something in us refuses to just sit around, waiting to die…

We are all in the same fraternal order.  Initiated at birth, and traveling through life’s highs and lows, towards that point of infinite possibilities.

And when the sun is shining, and all is well in our lives, it sometimes blinds one to an ever present truth.  The truth that people all around us may be going through a private moment of depression, pain, or moments of despair.  This is something I’ve been reminded of.

So I have chosen to share/blog through these dull moments with you, in the hopes you can draw something from them, and that you will dare to return your secrets of survival with me, and those around you.  We all are, or will need them one day, or season, when we least expect them.

What ways do you survive your dark moments? Does your spirituality play a role?  How does your current view of life and all its meaning help in these times?