Depression, Where are you?

The depths and darkness that resides in the souls of men, how well I know you my friend, depression. The gestures of the past that were never enough wear on me. The failures in places where I tried the hardest. Loves lost, opportunities missed, questions unanswered and statements that return only the echo of my own voice. What is depression? Sometimes the harshest pains come from those ever-present reminders of the past that cannot be discarded. A trinket on a shelf, covered in dust may contain within itself a world of stories long past. The item itself is of no value, and the memories are painful, but the connection between the remembered and the physically present creates meaning. Memories make us what we are and who we are, the past is an ever present ally, or a ruthless hunter, but either way it is like our shadow, a thing that cannot be escaped and is unique to each one. Possibly this is why the trinket stays on the shelf rather than being flung into the trash, perhaps this is why the reminder of pain is held on to. They remind us that we are human, and it is in their idiosyncratic secrets that our lives are found. For remember, we also keep the trophies of our hard earned accomplishments mingled among the mix.

If I had to give depression a geographic location I would say it resides near the state of denial, and probably within the Texas state boarders. Not that I have anything against Texas, but if you have ever been down I20 then you know what I mean. It is a mildly pleasant place, void of almost all life except plants that try to kill you and creatures that share that goal. The landscape is beautiful, but barren and lonely. It stretches on for miles, and along the way you might pass one other person over the course of a hundred miles of travel. But the fascinating thing about depression is that it shares characteristics with loneliness in that one can be surrounded by people and be alone.