Not On Faith Alone

Life is a beautiful creature that ebbs and flows between the joyous moments and those of darkness and difficulty. All moments of life have the potential to become a positive, transformative experience as we navigate our way through each moment learning lessons, gaining wisdom and insight, and strengthening our minds and souls. Our successful navigation through life's most difficult times aren't contingent upon faith alone that we will resurface. Rather it is the combination of faith and action that brings us forth from the ashes and sets us free. The speed at which we break forth from the shrouds of darkness is dependent upon our own level of involvement in our life's path and recovery from life's struggles.

I have been coping with periodic bouts of depression since my first surgery 20 years ago and I have been struggling with a particularly long episode of depression for the majority of this year. Although I feel uncomfortable proclaiming that I have successfully found my way through this episode at this point, I am noticing improvements albeit small at times and greater at others. Depression is a roller coaster, taking us on great highs on our good days and great depths on our bad days. The better days are increasing in number and I have been able to start tapering off of my anti-depressant medication. I am in the process of scheduling counseling sessions as well. My process this year has been backwards as the combination of counseling and a regiment of anti-depressant medication is actually clinically shown to be more effective than one method by itself. Sometimes though the darkness is overwhelming and we are only able to handle and function so much before we are overcome with the heaviness of it all. To protect ourselves, sometimes we must tackle one issue or treatment at a time as we obtain a greater grasp on ourselves and the difficult situation we are facing before we are able take additional action. Making the effort though to tackle our struggles is a necessary action.

It is with this action that we are able to see how the pieces of life may fit together even when individually the pieces don't appear to fit or ever will fit. Often the pieces of life require our action to alter individual pieces or moments so that each may find its connecting piece, without our intervention and effort we merely prolong or halt the process of connecting together moments to allow for change within a situation. Looks can be deceiving until a combination of time and action help guide more pieces together, allowing us a clearer glimpse of the larger picture of life. With each glimpse our faith is renewed and our action gains momentum, furthering the cycle of recovery. Yet without this action, our recovery remains stagnant as we passively wait for the darkness to lessen and life to improve itself. We cannot idly sit by waiting for life's greater days without our own participation in the process and our life. Passivity allows life to happen to us, not us happen to life. Action with the faith that there will be better days empowers us to live life zealously and actively.

Stop waiting for a situation to change, for life to improve, for that one day. Your faith for those better future moments is screaming out for your action to join and help make that change. Life is ever altering the course; in order to succeed at our dreams and goals we must change with the course. Find new footing, modify our goals and efforts as needed, and play on.