We all have dealt with our ups and downs, but they are all unique. So, it becomes difficult for us to share when we are in emotional pain. Instead we put up walls, mostly for very practical reasons. We don't want to harm our loved ones with harsh comments. We never want to cause a scene or start a fight. Most people do not want to do that anyway. The most common thing we say is that we do not want to be a burden on others with our depression. We don't want to depress others, as if depression is some sort of contagious disease, something that you can catch from someone who is too close to you. A great deal of us suffer in silence, as if this is the admirable alternative. The modern day hero does not suffer on the battlefield, but in his own mind, constantly tormented by failures and successes. It almost seems like a form of self punishment to deny yourself a sound state of mind, yet we continue to neglect ourselves. Why do we do this? Why do we strive for happiness and forget to check in on our own happiness? Is it really so difficult to find happiness in truth that we must create or deny our own realities? It would seem so for many people. The world is not enough; it must be enhanced for optimum benefits. There is a treasure trove of knowledge somewhere waiting to be discovered, and everyone knows it is there. Why? It just has to be. This cannot be it, not this harsh, unforgiving world. There must be more. There just must be. But what if that is untrue? What if this really is paradise, or the idea of paradise we have formulated? And what if we are the ones destroying it, or at least trying to anyway? It is difficult to say, but it is not difficult to think critically about such things. We are naturally curious, and that can lead to great knowledge that can take us to places we never thought that we would see, but our knowledge can also lead us to dark places that we never wanted to go to. Does this mean that we should fear knowledge? This possibility of being swept away by it? Of course not for that will ensure our gullibility. We must learn with a steady eye, not a speculative one. We cannot trust too readily, nor can we seek out the antihero. It is up to us to navigate through life, and find whatever happiness we can in the truth, the reality we live in. It is up to us to to find this happiness, so let us all find it in our own way, on our own time. Let us not adhere to frilly articles or can do cures. Let us turn off the how to tips, and hacks to success talks. They have had their time in the sun. Always remember that happiness is an important decision. You do not become happy like you fall in love. Love and happiness are different. No one has ever fallen into happiness. You must create your own happiness, not your own reality. Only you can do this, and no one can show you how. There is no quick fix for making depression fade either. I can't offer you a fast fix for your anxiety, though I can tell you that I know the pain that you are in. I can empathize with you. I can let you know that you are more than a number on a doctor's paper; you mean something to someone, somewhere, even if you don't know it yet. The silence of loneliness can be deafening. Despair can numb you to the world, both its joys and its pains. However, you do have the power to rebuild yourself hidden in there somewhere. You too are allowed to pursue happiness, true happiness. There is such joy in reality, the spontaneous combustion of existence. Just stop for a moment and remember that life is accessible. You have a stake just like anyone else. You're not out of it, not by a long shot. Quitting is for the people who don't listen to this show, who don't face reality. Whatever is holding you back from happiness, do not let it torture you into thinking that there is no such thing as happiness. Instead let it remind that happiness comes and goes, and that, no matter what, you will spend your entire life in pursuit of it.