Tag Archives: depression

Broken; in the darkness…

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I was Barnabas, with a skip in my steps on the sun dappled streets and words of encouragement on my tongue. A twirl around the school poles, daring and mischievous, inclined to evoke purpose as I grew up. My dreams were huge, unafraid and impenetrable…a pair of twinkling eyes, with not a thought given to the sorrow that introduces itself inevitably. Did I ever think time would be that unshakable companion even when I saw all I dreamed and built gradually collapse into piles of debris. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

I dreamed of buildng a world where wisdom and joy intermingled with no care or burden. It was my masterpiece, every line carefully drawn, every brick precisely positioned. It was more than just a building, it was my abode even as I basked in the abundance of His blessings. Age was my driving force, as I triumphed over little challenges, each trophy so elegantly woven into the tapestry of my life. Money was a resource to bring some joy into the lives of those that I encountered. Eyes with no hint of life, hopelessness and despondency so tightly clutched around their bodies. Why did they grasp so tightly to it even as I offered solace? Questions unanswered, grief abounding, hope lost.

Light beckons

Oh but the tide rises and it falls, even more unpredictable than I would ever imagine. Now I clutch tightly to memories of a life once dreamed, careful not to err nor accuse My Creator falsely. Why me? Why not me since life is known for her unfairness?, even as I once walked to the lyrics of Wisdom’s songs….now it’s all but silence. There’s no point in looking back because nothing stands, a life bereft of all the fineries life can offer. I need not be instructed, I know that it’s futile looking back because physically it’s almost impossible, thanks to Fahr. Where was that body, sculpted and tenuous, striving to become just as pleasant as my soul? It’s almost like it never existed but for the intermittent flashbacks and memories that seem to be gradually taking longer to show up.

It was all at my feet, everything I dreamed and strove for, assertive in my demands without the stench of arrogance. Did I prepare myself for this? No, I was Barnabas, encouraging and propping up lives as i journeyed. A crack, then a crevice and all the glamor went plunging down unchecked and assisted by gravity. Can Humpty Dumpty ever be put together again? It took but a fraction for it all to come crashing down and now I’m tasked with picking up the pieces, trying to make something from the rubble. In the effort lies the victory however I don’t see the victory yet, even though I know it’s there, will time be gracious to me?

My body’s broken and darkness calls out to me with the offer of silence because I just want to be left alone as I see the deceitfulness and desperate wickedness of the hearts of men. Once they clamored like kin, now it’s just the silence and with nought but empty pockets, the clink of coins is gone, exaggerated by the silence of the dark. Even my kin are nowhere, just a repetition of their absence because independence was my strength but now the strength wanes each day. My throat hurts, my voice is hoarse from calling for help because in the darkness, there’s nothing but my own arms. Mockery tumbles around like a court jester, gloating on what’s temporary however this darkness will not be my home.

Gone are the voices of those I held dear, now the cacophony of crickets is the symphony that ricochets all around me. Did I love enough? Can I love for just a bit? The cares of this world are loud in their drumming and even with my eyes shut, I can still hear the noise. Broken and bruised, the darkness seems to be the best place….just to rest a bit before I continue stumbling forward; the sand in my face, the winds buffet agonizingly. “When will it end?” reverberates in my head, the answer I must hold onto or else my life would be for nought. You can take it all away, my faith is all I’ve got and prepare to pry it from my gnarled dead hands just before the fires consume this body to birth another. Can I balance the horrors of this side to the perfection on the other side? Is that an option too? Do my actions betray my thoughts? Still I know that as long as there’s breath in my lungs, my purpose isn’t over.

Besmirched and forsaken, yet will I strain for that glimmer that marks the end of this darkness. With knowledge clinched tightly around my waist, I know it’s for a season however the times are beyond my capabilities though I know who does. Just as I draw a fresh breath, I’m pulled under the surface as the experts revel in their superfluous unending diagnosis. My strength is best served for the journey before me rather than foolishly engaging in discussions that are frought with ignorance and selfishness. Walk in your shoes, let me walk in mine and even when all around me, the darkness tries in deceit to offer some rest to my broken body, I know that my current path would make it easier for those behind me. And when the bell tolls and my tale is told, may it bring hope, strength and inspiration to another. My name still remains Barnabas, and for now, I will yet encourage myself in Him who presides over the affairs of men.

Tarry on, I whisper, for there’s little trust in the arm of flesh. Tarry on, I whisper, the chariots of men cannot take my burden. Tarry on, I whisper, my race isn’t over and so from the shadows, I must emerge and press on because the shadows tell me that light is just at its fringes.

עד שניפגש שוב, יהי חסדו לפרנסתך!

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Staying the shackles….

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Staying off the shackles

Staying off the shackles

“I am not as bad as people would suggest, and yet not as good as I would like to be’ – Robbie Williams

In tribute to a man who gave more of himself to bringing such fun to a sorrowful world, I acknowledge that most of the roles he was cast in were so intense that he was one of my favourites. Whilst not wanting to cast myself into the melee of murkiness surrounding his passing, I remind myself that life in death and death in life is inevitable but we can choose how to make both ends counts. My condolences go to his family and for the stone casters, remember that you can not claim to be a victor until you’ve fought your own battle. We all suffer depression at some point or the other but what strength it requires to stay those shackles. I know what it is but today I inhale and decide that there is a purpose out there way larger than what and how people perceive me in my pain ridden world struggling with a disorder that most medical experts find difficult to grasp.

It sure has been an eventful few weeks and whilst I pull myself from the minor relapse I had with the tremors so intense, I felt like staying safe required separating my muscles from my skeleton……Alas, talk is easy, going that extra mile converting it to action is where most limits lie and so still again it’s reaching down wearily to my boot strings….yank!and trudge on.

One of the most incomprehensible things that perturbs me is why do we consciously choose to long for shackles when it’s not rocket science that they are meant to constrain us. I recently enjoyed the company of some friends and despite the years that has gone by between us, the clarity of self choice and self centredness still shone through despite efforts to mask it with a thinly applied veneer of self-justification. We do what we choose to do and regardless of whether we are too lazy and let others make the choice, as long as we walk with those choices…..we must serve the time when it is proven a crime. One truth I gathered from those times is; you harm yourself when you strive to please others at the detriment of yourself. Disobeying God certainly has no merits. “Love your neighbor as you’d love yourself” it’s that simple and so when next you find yourself doing more loving for the former, then it’s time to draw in the reins.

I recall the tale of how circus elephants are trained or tamed, just by shackling their feet at birth ensures that even at the prime of their adult life, with huge reserves of brute strength, their minds still remain shackled and so the thrill is not about how flamboyantly the tamer puts those elephants through their paces during a circus but about how incredibly exciting the positive choices from lessons learned can be used…..even apply in them to death-defying scenarios. I’ve since learned that spending my days letting the false guffaws of many dictate who I am are over. I am who God says I am, and He’s sure not interested in taking a seat in the auditorium where I can’t even see His face while I sweat through my acts hoping to make Him chuckle so hard that next time when He wants some entertainment, He remembers me. Now that’s real sad!

No, I am fully persuaded that even as I act out my role on the stage called life, His guidance, strength, wisdom and presence enthuse me with so much that I can give without entirely emptying myself. I choose to defy the laws of physics that talks about motion continuance based on the transference of energy from one body to the other at the detriment of one. I stay off those shackles so eloquently illustrated by man with his limited knowledge because I know that life is based in relationships and so if I choose to ignorantly follow the bandwagon and allow people determine who and what I should do then I have failed myself and shirked my purpose.

“When you complain, you explain pain for no gain. Endure and balance yourself through the pain, be hopeful and persist to the end.” ― Israelmore Ayivor

My message still rings unchanged – no pain, no gain. Recognizing the moment of transition is something that we more oft than not, fail to learn. Life’s best lessons are learned in the house of sorrow however the question is are we so focused on the shackles that bind us that we fail to listen to that sweet voice within us because till we do, there will be no good lessons learned, no keenness of sight but with glazed eyes continue staring at the wrong people, the time of transition will like an open gate beckoning upon us that freedom lies beyond their boughs, slowly shut us in that world where we accept and comfort ourselves that as victims, life is never fair. What happened to being a victor for a change, it begins with a choice to keep those shackles away mentally and do something with the ones that welcomed us in at birth.

I wake up each day, today inclusive, thankful that irrespective of the limitations that are so familiar – health, finance, solitude, (the list is endless if you switch on the TV or look at what you can no longer do) I am more than a conqueror by choice of my new birth and that spurs me on. Life is all about seasons and to every season, there’s a beginning and an end. This world is big enough for everyone if we each can only dare to make a different choice today. Say a kind word to someone else, give a prop to another and whether it goes appreciated or not…do not stop because if we grow weary in well-doing, we’ve lost our claim to such a beautiful harvest.

…..” Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time ;

Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate ;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.” – H.W Longfellow

Today, I choose to make my own life count, remember “Don’t entrust your future on others’ hands. Rather make decisions by yourself with the help of God’s guidance. Hold your beliefs so tight and never let go of them!” ― Hark Herald Sarmiento

עד שנפגש שוב בזמן שלו, לא דגל לבן הוא אי פעם הולך לתלות מהמשקוף שלי

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