Dear You,
That’s right, you. Over there. Yeah, the one huddled under the pile of blankets, your pink toes peeking out from beneath the flannel.
Oh, and you, in the over-sized sweater in the corner. And in the back there, hiding under the baseball cap.
All of you, I want to tell you something.
Are you listening?
You won’t be sad forever.
Don’t scoff, I mean it. You won’t be sad forever.
I don’t know when it will end. I can’t promise “it will get better.” I’ve never predicted the future, and I don’t read tea leaves, so I don’t know when and I don’t know how, but I do know that you won’t be sad forever.
One day, you’ll wake up one morning, and getting out of bed will be easy. Maybe you’ll already be out of the shower by the time your alarm goes off, and you’ll arrive early for work or school. You’ll see your friends, and they’ll ask how you are, and the smile that crosses your face will be natural. You’ll notice the flowers outside the window, and the way the sunlight reflects off of your watch. Things will seem magical, and beautiful, and you’ll feel like your whole body is filled with light.
Being sad will seem like a distant memory.
I see you, baseball cap. I perfected that eye roll when I was six, so don’t even try it on me. You don’t get to be skeptical on this, you know why?
I’ve been there.
I’ve had an easy smile. I’ve noticed the flowers. I’ve moved my wrist back and forth to make sunlight patterns on the wall with my watch. I’ve forgotten how sad feels.
You won’t be sad forever.
I can see it in your eyes, the beaten down way that you feel, and I wish I could wrap you in a hug. I wish I could be all the things that you need. Instead, all I can tell you is that you won’t be sad forever.
And until then? You put one foot in front of the other. You blast your favorite hip-hop artist. You watch a movie that makes you laugh. You do the things that you need to do to make slugging through the sad just a little bit easier.
And you remember that you are strong. You are loved. You are beautiful, and talented, and everything that this sadness is making you think you are not. This sadness is gripping. It is terrorizing. But it is not what defines you.
Because you, amongst the blankets, and you, in the oversized sweater, and you, in the baseball cap, are defined by your heart and your strength and your beauty and your love and not your sadness.
And I hope that even if you can’t remember that this sadness doesn’t define you, you can remember this:
You will not be sad forever.
All my love,
Boles
This post was written for myself and all of the other men and women struggling with depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues. If you’d like to chat, please feel free to email me at [email protected]. If you need help, please call 1-800-273-8255.
