Last update: 09 March, 2016
Facundo Cabral, Argentine poet and singer-songwriter, wrote what can be called the "portrait of life", reflecting on the meaning of all that escapes us, of the innocence of the first times overwhelmed by the hard experiences of life.
The text entitled "You are not depressed, you are distracted", speaks to us of hope and struggle, of the reworking of pain, of the ability to face life responsibly, but not too seriously, because that's how everything turns upside down. It encourages us to surround ourselves with the right people, it speaks to us of the possibility of giving meaning to one's life thanks to love and contemplation. Of the fact that if you live, nothing else is so important.
Sometimes we believe we are sad and unlucky about something in concrete, because what we believed to be the engine of our existence is slipping away, we feel depressed without really appreciating everything around us.
We feel depressed because we don't appreciate everything around us
“Distracted from the life that populates you, you have heart, brain, soul and spirit… How can you say you are poor and unfortunate. Distracted from the life around you, dolphins, woods, seas, mountains, rivers.
Don't fall into what your brother fell into, suffering from a human being when there are 5600 million others in the world, and living alone isn't even that bad; I live in the moment and loneliness allows me to know myself, which is essential for living.
Do not fall into what your father fell into, who feels old because he is seventy, forgetting that Moses led the exodus at eighty and Rubinstein at ninety interpreted Chopin like no other, to name two striking cases. You are not depressed, you are distracted ...
This is why you are convinced that you have lost something, but this is impossible: you have been given everything. Everything you have is yours without you having lifted a finger, so you are not master of anything. Furthermore, life does not take away, rather it frees you from things, it lightens you to allow you to fly higher and reach fullness.
Life is a cradle-to-grave school, and what you call problems are actually lessons; life is dynamic and in constant motion, that's why you have to pay attention to the present, that's why my mother told me "I take care of the present, the future is in God's hands", that's why Jesus said "don't worry about tomorrow. , because tomorrow will already have its anxieties. Each day suffices its pain ”.
You have not lost anyone, the dead have reached the afterlife before you, but we will all go there; moreover, their best part, Love, still lives in your heart. "
The text tells us that what we believe to be a state of depression is sometimes simply a distraction from the world. It does so through the artistic and poetic perspective often linked to this type of reflection. If observed from a psychological point of view, the concepts described acquire a logic and a reason.
Sometimes we are so despondent about something that we feel insecure, troubled by emptiness and existential struggles, saddened by the past; this leads us not to grasp the magnificent situations that arise before us. We postpone walks with friends, the opportunities to meet new people, the fight for a new job until we slowly fall into depression.
We let ourselves be distracted by negative things
Our thoughts and cognitive schemes make us evaluate the world in a negative way, but if you remain still, the situation cannot improve. We get used to the shade, to a monotonous but comfortable melancholy, and we believe that there is no other way to live in the world. We watch television while remaining indifferent to what happens in the world, because we are now used to living in our unreal reality.
But that's exactly why ours is not real depression, but a distraction made up of the negative aspects that do not allow you to see the magnificence of the world. We are distracted by people who do not let themselves be passionate, who are influenced by value judgments, duties, memories and lack of love.
Don't get distracted by what it doesn't allow you to see anymore
“You do not find happiness although it is easy to find, just listen to the heart instead of the head; the head, it is conditioned by the memory, by the complications and by the orders of the past, by the prejudices that make us sick, that bind. The head divides and impoverishes, the head is unable to accept that life is as it is, not as it should be.
Just follow what you love and you will be happy. Whoever does it is doomed to eternal success; and success will come when it has to come, for what has to be will and will come naturally.
Make peace with yourself, look in the mirror and know that the person reflected is the work of God; decide at this very moment to be happy: happiness is an acquisition, it will not come from outside. Furthermore, it is not a right but a duty, since he who is unhappy also afflicts others.
A single man without talent and worth for a living ordered the extermination of six million Jewish brothers. There are many things to enjoy, and our passage on earth is too short to waste time. "
Wasting time is suffering. Although it is inevitable to experience pain sooner or later in life, as in the case of the excruciating loss of a loved one, prolonged suffering is an option that we can accept or discard.
You can choose not to be distracted by negative things anymore that prevent us from living life fully, from taking care of ourselves, we can decide to leave victimhood aside as an excuse for all our ills.
You are not depressed, rather you fail to see the caresses and love that surround you, and you focus only on the ulterior motives and misfortunes of this world. You are too busy thinking about guilt, and its weight is preventing you from appreciating life; but it is up to you to decide how to deal with it.
You are not depressed, you are distracted. But remember that innocence is exciting, because everything is a mirror, everything is a party, and therefore we cannot afford to carry the weight of thoughts and people that we do not need.
Now you know. You are getting confused by all of this, so you are distracted, not depressed.
