Friends in Low Places

"Trouble creates a capacity to handle it.  I don't embrace trouble; that's as bad as treating it as an enemy.  But I do say meet it as a friend, for you'll see a lot of it and had better be on speaking terms with it."  ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

I seem to be on a downhill slide. I feel disconnected, discouraged, my energy is almost non-existent. I'm tired of myself. There's no one thing bringing me down...it's more a general sense of icky-ness. Is it seasonal depression, my biorhythms, PMS, or just a lag in my own self-esteem? I can't be certain, but even the people around me seem to be covered in the haze of hopelessness. Once caught in the web of depression, it is difficult to find the will to escape. I take shelter in my comfy couch, blanket, and snacks. But, eventually, my ass gets sore from sitting on it, -and I'm not a quitter. Now is the time to call on determination and perseverance. I've been here before and found a way out. It can be done. Unfortunately, there is no script or procedure, I'm going to have to wing it. I'll be thinking about those of you who are surviving and thriving in spite of real heartbreak. I will find my strength and I'll grow some more. I'm reminded of a story my sister told me, and I have to apologize for not knowing the source. She heard someone compare life to a video game. Each level comes with it's own challenges, and when you master one level, you graduate to the next. When life gets difficult, you can congratulate yourself for completing the last level and then get to the business of mastering the next. I guess that means I'm one step closer to rescuing the princess, (me), and finding the pot of gold.