Some people would equate happiness or elation as the complete opposite of depression, just like some people would equate love as the opposite of hate. As the Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel has said, indifference is the opposite of love, in that vein I believe that the opposite of depression is hope and faith. Hope that not everything is in vain. Faith that you make a difference. I can count on the fingers of my right hand the number of people who are aware that I too suffer from this. Granted it’s not the crippling one, because I get up in bed knowing I have to do something for the day. I know my life is not just my own. I live for the people in my life who need me, and for the random people who need a quick picker upper through a song. I might not have touched as much lives as other people but I try my best. I used to look for happiness because I thought it would make me feel better, I looked for happiness in my friends, the women I’ve dated, my family, and the people I bring smiles too. I’ve realised for a while that I shouldn’t look for it from other people, it has to come from me. To be able to give myself and other people hope, I have to be happy on my own and share it with others. Do other people make me happy? Obviously, it’s a resounding yes, but that only complements the happiness I have. I’m also aware that this does not work for everyone, not everyone does something they love or are passionate about, I know, I understand, but it shouldn’t stop you from hoping. Hoping that someday you’ll find it, or that someday you’ll have time for it, because I know some people have found theirs but feel they don’t have time to pursue their passion. It’ll come, sooner or later, for now have hope. Because hope keeps you moving, hope makes you get out of bed, hope keeps you trying, hope keeps you trusting, hope keeps you loving, and I hope in my heart of hearts it keeps you living.
