I recently discussed with someone about depression. I told them I overcame it by being rational in my thoughts and throwing all the drugs into the pit latrine after I discovered my truth.
He concurred with my views and shared my opinion.
Being a spiritual person, his comment and question that, ‘depression ni upuzi, ‘why didn’t we have depression in times of Jesus?’, set my mind ablaze and I landed in time when Israel was a young nation.
In the Book of Kings, a prophet named Elijah is grappling with suicidal thoughts after disrupting the plans of a satanic queen, Jezebel. The queen pursued him to kill him and he became afraid and walked through the desert and hid himself.
“I have had enough, Lord,” he prayed. “Let me die. I am no better than my ancestors.” Elijah cried. (1st Kings 19:4)
This is evidence of a depressed and suicidal person as thoughts of death had clung to his spirit.
God’s answer is more like it. “Acha upuzi, amka uendelee na kazi” and I quote:
“Get up and eat. If you don’t, the journey will be too hard for you, ” 1st Kings 19:7.
Elijah, just like many of us continued to complain and sit instead of moving. Then God decided to do other things to nudge him from his depressed state. The things that God did were geared toward work, move and do. Not sit down and feel pity for oneself.
God promised the prophet Elijah to go and stand in some mountain and he would meet him there. Elijah, having complained twice, went as instructed. God would then do two miracles, where Elijah still did not see him. Then a third, time, a “still small voice” revealed itself to be the Lord.
Elijah who had complained that he was alone, working tirelessly for an unappreciating God, without protection.
Elijah who had become full of himself was told, ‘I have thousands like you who worship me in truth and have never bent the knee to Baal. Your time is up, anoint one to take over from you’.
What do we learn?
The modern human being is bamboozled by so much information. Cheated out of truths that are plain; when one scraps the thin veil of deceit and receives rational considerations in thoughts.
People meander through murk, believing comforting lies as truth lies discarded. The truth always waits eagerly to be picked up again and used to help the blind lot.
Is the truth that still small voice in your head that seeks an alternative, but you brush it off?
It is a crying shame when it is evident ‘too much of something is poisonous’, yet we indulge in food, parties, merry-making, and other aspects of the short life to try to fill some void. Life should be enjoyed, but not the way we mostly do.
How do voids-leading-to-depression form?
Isn’t it a matter of longing for that which one cannot reach here now?
Isn’t it being full of oneself, being greedy for all, being impatient for what is dreamt about, and overall, wrong thinking of ourselves as better than the rest?
Isn’t it a comparison of our lives with others? That futile exercise that leads to a slippery consumerist religion slopes that would never be fulfilled in a million years.
Most of us feel we are critical thinkers but all we do is repeat the bullshit lies taught to us. More often than not, there’s a ‘still-small-voice’ that whispers softly into our skulls that something or a pattern of life isn’t okay. But we are so numbed and conformed to lies that we don’t seek to break free.
In every opportunity, we are given a chance to reflect, decide, try to achieve, and to be content.
Contentment is good. But it is something that cannot be reached if one has not answered the question, ‘Why am I here?’
What is it that you fear?
To answer that, one must decide on what they want to achieve in life, work towards it, and be prepared for good or bad results.
If things fail, try again. If it works, work hard to continue on a good trajectory.
Bad times and good times don’t last. But as long as we breathe, we need to hope.
In silence and in respect and reflection. We hope.
Not comparing ourselves to others, not looking at what is beyond reach now as something to be received now. We should work.
Understanding oneself teaches us to only value the important things and work towards that.
Know thyself, stop pity parties, and ask yourself if there’s a way to change what or how your life is currently.
Take it up, as there are a million other ways to live one’s life.
And move.
You might just be lucky to get wise and reach your goals. Nothing is guaranteed, but while we breathe, we patiently hope.
Elijah was literally taken up into heaven. Whatever that means.
For us, soon enough, we will be long dead, buried, and forgotten and nothing will matter.
So why get depressed to the level of killing oneself?
What is it that you fear?
Get up and confront it!
Photo: Wikimedia commons