Dear Girija:

“When I accept something, how do I not let it turn into depression… while it sounds good to say make the best of each day, it is also depressing to accept that we are helpless or have no control” – it is depressing to focus on what we have no control over, this is why it is so important to focus on what we do have control over. Whenever you feel depressed over what you cannot control, shift your focus to what you can control.

“In theory I could say since we are here for a limited time, might as well enjoy” – I am less optimistic than you, I say, might as well suffer less, rather than enjoy.

“It is so sad that we can’t live forever, happily” – yes, that’s the curse of being human.  Unlike other animals we can IMAGINE living forever (“and they lived happily ever after. The End”- fairytales ending), and we get upset that we can’t. Other animals’ blessing is that they can’t imagine eternity. Maybe as humans, we should adopt the (other) animals’ mindset and stop imagining a happily-ever-after.

anita