What I mean

by "You are not alone, and this will not last forever"

“In 2020, I started tweeting the words from my book cover daily – “You are not alone, and this will not last forever.” Many people assumed I was referring to the pandemic, and I was, though I was also speaking to those with depression, and especially to the dear souls who had to struggle through both simultaneously. Sometimes when I tweeted those words people asked anxiously for reassurance—“Do you promise?” Other times people expressed disbelief, or even anger, feeling like the words were empty or meaningless. Sometimes I felt bad about tweeting the words out of context, as if I were ignoring the isolation and the deep pain and grief we were all feeling.

“But here’s what I meant, and what I mean: When I write, “You are not alone,” I mean that even though everything you’re experiencing is unique to your dear, beloved heart, it is also part of the depth of human experience. As Terence wrote, “I am human, and nothing human is alien to me.”

“And I mean that although we may be physically isolated, by illness or by distance, we need each other. You are needed—you have something unique and beautiful to offer the world. And your own needs are not too much, but rather are part of what binds you to others in community.

“And when I write, “This will not last forever,” I don’t mean that everything will be fine, that the future is rosy, that pain will disappear. I mean that this specific time will not last forever. Something will shift. There will be pain in the future, too, but there will also be joy. You are not stuck in this moment forever.”

~from my book, Blessings for the Long Night: Poems and Meditations to Help You through Depression

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