Yes, everything is pointless.<\/span> If there’s no point to anything, then what’s the point of being upset about it?<\/p>\n Even depression isn’t inherently “bad.” The idea that depression is bad and that you need to be \u201ccured,\u201d is the only thing that makes it into a \u201cproblem.\u201d<\/p>\n If you are a depressed human organism, you\u2019re just as natural and beautiful as a thunderstorm over the ocean or a vast expanse of sandy desert or a lazy panda, napping in a patch of bamboo. Except instead of napping in a patch of bamboo, you\u2019re lying in a bed (or sitting on the floor, or wallowing in a quagmire of misery of some kind), reading about depression.<\/p>\n Maybe the Universe IS pointless. Maybe everything IS garbage. From a certain perspective, these things are obviously true. If you feel like indulging your depression, giving up on life, and saying \u201cfuck everything, everything sucks,\u201d that\u2019s fine too.<\/p>\n But, if, for some reason, you\u2019d rather not be depressed right now \u2014 I don\u2019t know, maybe you\u2019d rather do something exciting \/ fulfilling \/ responsible \/ fun with your life instead of just lying in bed all day \u2014 then read on. These are the dark-arts secrets \u2014 well, actually, they\u2019re more like the well-known common-sense habits \u2014 for how to naturally rise above your depression.<\/p>\n Right now, your mind may be focused on things like \u201cpointlessness,\u201d \u201cmeaninglessness,\u201d and what I like to call \u201ceverything is garbagishness.\u201d<\/p>\n Now, a lot of \u201cpositive thinking\u201d advocates might tell you to \u201clook at the bright side\u201d or \u201cthink positive.\u201d But the truth is, you\u2019re right. Everything is pointless, meaningless, and garbage. It would feel fake to try to deny that. For people who care about \u201ctruth,\u201d it\u2019s almost not worth it. It almost feels better to be depressed than to be intentionally naive.<\/p>\n Instead of trying to \u201cthink positive,\u201d just try to enjoy the fact that everything is pointless. Smile about it. Haha, everything is garbage!<\/p>\n Alright then. Now we\u2019re in a place where we can start moving forward.<\/p>\n Part of why we get so tired when we\u2019re depressed is that we spend way too much energy trying to fight it\u2026 trying to resist the idea that everything is pointless. \u201cNo,\u201d we shout into the void, \u201cit\u2019s not pointless! I shouldn\u2019t be depressed! What\u2019s wrong with me?\u201d Stop doing that. Give up on that fight.\u00a0When we let go of that resistance to the obvious truth of reality, we reclaim a lot of our natural\u00a0energy.<\/p>\n The Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama \u2014 arguably the greatest psychologist of all time \u2014 tried to explain this to the people of India over 2,500 years ago.<\/p>\n According to the Buddha, if we want to be \u201cawake\u201d in life, we must come to terms with three \u201cnoble truths.\u201d<\/p>\n 1. Dukkha (roughly translated: \u201ceverything sucks\u201d) When we stop struggling against these obvious truths, we can finally relax, and just let reality be as it is. We can breathe a sigh of relief. We can even smile, and laugh about it. How silly\u2026 we were making ourselves depressed by trying not to be depressed \ud83d\ude42 The Universe is meaningless! Hooray!<\/p>\n Now that we\u2019ve got that out of the way, and we\u2019ve reclaimed some of our energy, we can actually start moving the body.<\/p>\n Yes, that means getting out of bed, off the couch, and actually moving around. Ugh. Sounds like garbage. I know. Why in this pointless Universe would we ever want to do that?<\/p>\n Well, what if I told you it could actually feel good after a few minutes? Would that change your mind?<\/p>\n No?<\/p>\n OK then.<\/p>\n If you want to go on feeling depressed, be my guest. Just stop reading right here, lie down and take a nap. No problem \ud83d\ude42 Nothing wrong with being depressed, after all.<\/p>\n If you do have some urge to get un-depressed and live a more fun and enjoyable life, then get up and do something.<\/p>\n Go for a walk outside (put on clothes if you have to). Try to get a peek at the sky, if you can. Maybe even some trees, or animals, or other human beings. You don\u2019t have to interact with them, just go out and see them.<\/p>\n Try to move your body as much as you can.<\/p>\n You can start off just by getting out of bed and walking around a little bit. That will help. If that\u2019s as much as you can do right now, that\u2019s great. Take it easy. Baby steps. But if you can, try to increase your movement as you go along. Try walking farther. Faster. Maybe even try going to the gym. Work out longer, and harder.<\/p>\n Get your body moving. Get your blood flowing.<\/p>\n Behaviorally, being \u201cdepressed\u201d means lying around and being inactive. If you\u2019re running around and actively doing things \u2014 especially healthy things that are good for your body \u2014 are you actually even depressed anymore?<\/p>\n Moving your body has a way of changing your whole outlook on life. Who knows\u2026 maybe you\u2019ll even start to feel like doing other things again \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n Before reading on, stop here, and actually get up and do something. Even if it\u2019s just a short walk.<\/p>\n Go outside.<\/p>\n Seriously. Stop reading, move your body, and go outside.<\/p>\n If your mindset is good and your body is moving, you\u2019re already pretty much out of the depression zone. But if you want to take it up a notch and really be a happy MF, take a few minutes to get your heart in the right place \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n It\u2019s healthy to have peace of mind and movement of body\u2026 but without a warm, loving heart, you\u2019ll still feel cold and disconnected.<\/p>\n In order to be fundamentally happy and healthy, you\u2019ll need to generate love toward yourself and toward the people around you. You can do this by cultivating a kind heart within yourself.<\/p>\n Smile warmly at everyone you see (or if there’s nobody around, just smile at them in your mind\u00a0for now).<\/p>\n Wish them well in your heart.<\/p>\n Recognize that they are, like you, just doing their best in life, trying to make it work, and figuring it out as they go along.<\/p>\n Recognize that they too have pain in their lives.<\/p>\n Try to help people who are sad or hurting. Try to cheer them up and make them feel better \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n Be glad for people when they are happy.<\/p>\n Finally, don\u2019t forget to treat yourself with this same kind of love.<\/p>\n This all may feel weird and unnatural at first. Lifelong habits \u2014 especially mental\/emotional ones \u2014 are hard to change. If you\u2019ve been cultivating coldness\/callousness\/etc for your whole life, you\u2019ve literally wired your neurons<\/a> in a way that makes it hard to generate love.<\/p>\n Keep trying anyway. Just like with any new skill, it may be difficult at first, but once you get the hang of it, it becomes as natural as taking a shit. Or riding a bike. Whatever.<\/p>\n Part of being depressed is languishing away in a hopeless, pointless, meaningless situation, where you feel unfulfilled in some way or another.<\/p>\n By getting your body moving and working on your physical health, you\u2019re already moving in the right direction. You\u2019re doing something productive, something healthy, something that is moving you forward.<\/p>\n But there are other parts of life that are important too, and if you neglect them, you\u2019re gonna have a bad time.<\/p>\n Food. Shelter. Sex. Independence. Financial security. Being respected by the people around you. Feeling a sense of fulfillment from doing something awesome. All that crap on Maslow\u2019s pyramid of human needs.<\/p>\n \ufffc Start with the stuff on the bottom, and work your way up from there. The higher you climb on the pyramid, the\u00a0happier and healthier you\u2019ll be.<\/p>\n Get what you need. It\u2019s not as hard as you might think. You can do it if you put some effort into it.<\/p>\n By taking care of all that stuff \u2014 mind, body, heart, etc \u2014 you\u2019ll be as healthy and happy as pretty much anybody around you.<\/p>\n The problem is, as the Buddha so eloquently said\u2026 nothing lasts forever. You may get into a good place, but then \u2014 after a few days\/weeks\/months \u2014 fall out of it and get depressed again. Happens all the time. That\u2019s just how life goes.<\/p>\n For that, we have a couple of solutions.<\/p>\n The first, and most obvious solution, is to cultivate a routine, a system of habits, a \u201cspiritual practice,\u201d if you will. Meditation works really well. If you meditate every morning, it clears all the BS out of your mind, and lets you focus on the important things. Like staying happy and healthy. HERE\u2019S A LINK TO AN ARTICLE ABOUT HOW TO MEDITATE<\/a>, in case you were wondering.<\/p>\n
\n Yes, everything sucks.<\/span>
\n That doesn\u2019t mean you have to be depressed about it!<\/span><\/p>\nWHAT’S WRONG WITH POINTLESSNESS?<\/h2>\n
MIND<\/h2>\n
\n2. Anicca (roughly translated: \u201cthe Universe is basically just particle soup\u201d)
\n3. Anatta (roughly translated: \u201cnot only will you one day die, but you don\u2019t even really exist\u00a0now; everything, including you, is just part of the Universe-soup\u201d)<\/p>\nBODY<\/h2>\n
HEART<\/h2>\n
TAKE CARE OF YOUR OTHER NEEDS<\/h2>\n
![\"everything](\"https:\/\/www.meditationmag.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Maslow-Hierarchy.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nSTAY WOKE<\/h2>\n