His Depression Became His Helper
Whether consciously or unconsciously, it’s something naturally given and built into our human nature.
Once, I was with a man in his early forties. He had spent years developing a highly successful business.
But one day, he found himself severely depressed. In an emotional seesaw. He could not understand.
The more his externals were going up, the more his internals were going down. He’s confused and lost about what’s going on with him.
That’s when he began to seek help in therapy. There, he discovered more closely and honestly what his depression was telling about his life.
His discoveries startled him.
One of them, he realized how all these years he bought into an unquestioning cultural idea that the meaning of life is wealth and achievement.
He totally believed that life’s meaning was nothing more than earning a lot of money and other people’s praises and approval.
“It’s the illusion that drove my life, so now I’m experiencing its pain,” he remarked. Fueled by society, he saw it now as a sort of “con job” he did on himself.
He ended up leaving the affluence or glamour of his business behind, living a minimalist lifestyle, and attending a Christian missionary school.
Eventually, he served as a missionary and bible teacher among the poor in a Third World country.
This man’s depression became his helper.
Returning to his spiritual longings and passion, doing what matters to him, released him from his suffering.
Through it, he found himself ... and the true meaning of his life. A meaning larger than life.