Instant Depression Cure! – CREDO LXXIII

   
Given the state of the world in general and our nation in particular, there are many, many of us who are fighting negativity and may be, as I have been myself, worried and depressed. As my mother pointed out, there are three things that usually provide us with stress: money, love, or health problems. The root emotion is fear.

Fear comes for many reasons, and trust may be hard to come by unless one is supported by spiritual faith, and even that may become sorely tested. Last night, a memory of my Teacher, M, came to my rescue. Back in 1944, some sixty-five years ago, he counseled me: When you are feeling down, afraid, and sorry for yourself,

Do something for somebody quick!

It doesn’t seem to matter what you think to do: pick up the phone and call a friend, reach out to do a favor, apologize for something, give a child or anyone a hug—all that matters is that you shift your attention from yourself to concern for another living being. As I write this, I am reminded of Christ’s last words on the cross (and you don’t have to be Christian to appreciate them), “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”

This is no Pollyanna goody-goody advice but sound spiritual and psychological counsel. It is our ego that gets depressed. When one reaches out sincerely to touch someone else with kindness, one allows the flow of energy of our center of the Self and Divine Guest to course through us to not only heal us but help others. Thousands of years ago, the wisdom of the Hindu Upanishads offers us this lovely thought:

As the Sun shines upon my heart, so may my heart shine upon others.

The Bible tells us that “the sun shines upon the just and the unjust.” This is a powerful reminder that our physical sun is a star and the mysterious source of all life, warmth, and, consequently, incarnation of Spirit.

And in conclusion we also have

The Prayer of St. Francis

Lord, make me a channel of thy Peace!
Where there is hatred, let me sow Love
Where there is injury, Pardon
Where there is doubt, Faith
Where there is despair, Hope
Where there is darkness, Light
Where there is sadness, Joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be comforted as to comfort
to be understood as to understand
to be loved as to love
for it is by giving that we receive;
It is by forgiving that we are forgiven
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal Life.

See what I mean?

lovingly,
ao