Depression

Depression opens the door to beauty of some kind.  -James Hillman 

If we live long enough we will all experience sadness (depression) in our lives. It can turn our steps into robotic like movements or immobilize us completely in its terrifying compression of light. 

Elizabeth Wurtzel, author of Prozac Nation, articulated well the experience of depression: 

That's the thing about depression [sadness]: A human being can survive almost anything, as long as she [he] sees the end in sight. But depression is so insidious, and it compounds daily, that it's impossible to ever see the end. The fog is like a cage without a key. I have always viewed fog as enigmatic and dreamlike, yet if it never lifted with the suns gentle hand, it indeed would be terrifying. 

Michael Schenker, a German born musician, captured the essence of sadness with his statement; Depression is something that makes you lose your sight. However, depression perhaps gives us a different way of seeing - it stops our sometimes mindless routine – forcing us to determine the cause and create an escape. Sadness is not a place to stay, but a visit may prove valuable.

In his book, Spontaneous Happiness, Dr. Andrew Weil states that research confirms that one of the positive benefits of depression in creativity.  Song writer Richard Marx said, I'm happy, I would say that I'm one of the happiest people I know but I've certainly had periods of profound sadness, depression, and heartache and those are the kind of things that are interesting to me to write about. 

My experience has inclined me to agree with the American psychologist James Hillman who declares that depression (profound sadness is more descriptive to me) opens the door to beauty of some kind. 

I cannot believe otherwise and continue walking along a healthy path.