Stress, exhaustion, holiday depression, and seasonal affective disorder (SAD) can often be unwanted guests to our holiday celebrations. They silently plague our minds, enveloping us in darkness as black as the coal we threaten to gift our "naughty" children with--leaving us to wonder, what did we do to land ourselves on this proverbial naughty list of mental health?
If you feel stressed, burdened, or know someone who does during this holiday season, this article is for you--in hopes of not only shedding light on a dark subject, but perpetuating it until we can lend our own light to those weighed down by darkness.
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Atlas, according to Greek mythology, chose wrong by pledging allegiance to the losing side in a war between the Olympians and the Titans--a mistake we all could and, in fact, have made in our own small, personal way. His punishment: Eternally holding up the heavens.
Are you surprised? The common portrayal of Atlas often has him shouldering the weight of the world--and not the heavens--on his aching back. I can't help but believe that this is because we can understand Atlas's too-real, worldly burden, rather than a celestial one. We each can empathize with the raw pain of holding someone's world on your shoulders: your children, your aging parents, your significant other, and your own tattered life. But when does it get too much?
I think the reason that the holidays can be so difficult for many of us boils down to that basic principle: we're all shouldering our own, invisible burdens. This can be brought on by the heaviness of losing a loved one, but I also think that it comes from this idea that our messy, imperfect lives have to match up to the expectation of a picture perfect family. The pressure is on even more to be this ideal demigod--holding the world on their shoulders, holding on to a semblance of peace, holding together a "perfect" family.
But, as humans, we are flawed. Our lives aren't smoothly polished but roughly hewn. We have rugged edges. We are full of faults and vices. We are beautifully messy and chaotic creatures.
And that is okay.
Keep in mind that diamonds are regarded as one of the most beautiful gemstones in the world, but no diamond found in nature is without its faults. Only an artificial stone can accomplish this. Basing your life on this artificial semblance of perfection makes us too blind and too stubborn to see that the foundation upon which we have built our lives was made of sand and sticks rather than the bricks and mortar of a genuine life.
The fact is, every day might be a struggle. Every day you might feel like you're in a giant game of tug-of-war with the ultimate prize being your sanity. Slowly, persistently, tugging you apart; peeling it away piece-by-piece, like layers of wallpaper--each time revealing more of the raw layers beneath.
And it might leave you asking, when will the peeling stop? When can tired Atlas lay down his burden and let the weight of the heavens topple off of his shoulders? Maybe you can never lay it down. But that doesn't mean you have to carry it alone either.
When your metaphorical back begins to cave, your legs become weak, and you threaten to collapse, I want you to remember something:
I want you to remember that it's okay to be flawed. Its okay to be different. Its okay to hurt, to feel empty, and to want more out of life. But, also remember, that you don't have to do it alone.
Because there will always be someone who loves you to keep you standing. And there will always be someone beside you, to share the burden with you.
