Mood Bubbles

"This too Shall Pass" 

When you're in the midst of a particularly bad state of mind -- let's say a bout of depression or anxiety -- it's really easy to believe it will go on forever.  

You've become so familiar with the feeling and it's so strong at times, that you think it's ever-present -- just one more moment in a string of black pearls that stretches on forever.

But they really do end. Always. They do take pause. Just like happiness or contentment, no emotion lasts forever.

In fact, they can be quite fleeting. They can be particularly fleeting if you do nothing with them, except perhaps, observe them. This is one of the powerful perspectives that meditation delivers. Depression and anxiety do, in fact, deteriorate in their natural state. They rise and pass away.

They are bubbles floating to the surface of the water.  Sometimes they start deep. Other times shallow. But they only have one way to go.

We can get wrapped up in them. We can try to destroy them, in which case they may break apart into tinier bubbles and their trip to the surface prolonged.

But if we recognize their inevitable destiny -- to break through the surface to diffuse into the fresh air and sunshine above -- it's quite a bit easier to appreciate their transitory nature.

Remind yourself of this the next time despair arises. It is hard to accept in the midst of those dark moments, I recognize. Viscerally. But it is a fact. It cannot be any other way. Tell yourself this.

Let it rise. Let it pass. Maybe even take an interest in it. Maybe offer it a little gratitude and appreciation for its occurrence. Everything has a purpose, right? 

It will serve its purpose, whatever and however mysterious that may be, and then it will be gone. (That's a great time, by the way, to really lean into the gratitude for a bit.)