Every once in a while…

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There’s strength in numbers

Every once in a while, there’s a power outage in my village where I spend a few days every month. Tonight, it’s rainy and windy, and the place has gone dark. Instinctively, I glance at my neighbour’s house. It’s dark there too. Greatly relieved, I sit watching the rain splattering with a clamorous yet relaxing rhythm.

I am relieved and reassured that I am not suffering this alone. It’s a bit like my friend who says that she wishes that the world comes to an end soon. Though scared of the prospect of facing D-day or apocalyptic annihilation, she is happy if everyone perishes with her. Dying alone is not that great. One can do with some company.

But my relief of having my neighbours also in the dark is not merely because I want company for bad experiences. It’s the general presumption based on previous experience that the power gets restored sooner if the problem is affecting many people unlike if it’s just you, then it’s all on you.

Suffering alone is depressing. It is said that a good portion of humanity is facing some form of depression at varying levels.

In the corporate world, I have felt many a time that I was like a line item on a crowded spreadsheet. You get your salary, and most importantly, you have a job. Yet, when I think about it, the feeling’s not pleasant.

In my home, my wife runs the household. She almost single-handedly brought up our daughter as I was away at work for extended periods of time. Obviously, she has enough and more reason to feel unappreciated. But we joke about it and laugh it off and focus on the brighter side of things, and that’s helped us in keeping us in good stead.

Laughing it off is sometimes easier said than done. Not everyone and everything can be simply taken lightly. Humour and wit help a lot but evidently has their limitations. How else do we reconcile the tragedy of Robin Williams, one of the greatest comedians of all time?

The real depressing thing about depression is that it’s not an easy topic to discuss.

Fortunately, it’s always just a matter of time before the dark clouds drift away. It’s just that sometimes it feels like forever and our forbearance and patience would need to survive the straining at the seams of sanity.

Every once in a while, we have to wait until the Sun comes up the next morning.

Of course, only when the power supply returned the next morning, could I upload this story onto the net, while George Harrison sang on my radio –

Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun
And I say, “It’s alright”

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No problem lasts forever. Every once in a while, there’s a silver lining to the cloud. That said, my friend is happy to wait longer. The end of the world apparently is nowhere imminent.