The Bright Side

Today has been a day of ups and downs and I feel inspired to be a little more personal on my blogging. Depression and bad moods affect us all at some point in one form or another. These are ramblings of the Med Tech Matthew.

******Before I begin I would like to say that I am sorry for the writing. I went back and read what I had written and instead of editing everything I’ll just say I’m sorry. I tried my best to get my thoughts on the page but that comes with run-on sentences and rambling. Just try to make it through and I hope the heart of the post reaches you. TLDR: Don’t let depression take over your life, face it and get past it.

My wife can attest to the fact that I just woke up in a worse mood than usual. I have routinely woken up in bad moods and my best treatment is audio. This morning the medicine I chose was my Disney Radio station on Pandora. Not only was I woken up in a bad mood but I got a small glimpse of our family’s possible probable future; a mother/daughter spat. I’d like to apologize to them both even though they share partial blame for the mood I didn’t mean for my mood to affect our morning. I’m sorry ladies.

Most days I can put on Pandora and listen to a couple tunes from our favorite Disney princess movies and have a great day. Mulan, Belle, and of course Rapunzel have some of the greatest Disney songs. I’ve linked to the video clips of their songs for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy.

My day at work hasn’t really made the mood any better with malfunctions in important parts of our computer system and coworkers fighting with each other. I think the majority of the problems between the coworkers have been aired and some of the passive aggressive crap will stop but I’m sure there is still at least a bit of unresolved issues lingering beneath the  surface. I needn’t say much more on this matter because it doesn’t directly affect me and you really wouldn’t understand the tensions anyways; mostly just that nit-picky stuff that happens when you work 12 hours with someone who’s personality isn’t a good match with yours or the crew’s.

Another bit that is making be depressive lately has been thinking about death. I know it sucks to bring it up and I hope I don’t cause anyone else grief by making you think about it but it’s a fact of our existences. This past week, I was watching Star Trek: The Next Generation and, though it is strange to say this, two episodes really touched me. Both of them dealt with death; ‘Who Watches the Watchers’ explaining that there is no supernatural way around it, and ‘The Bonding’ explaining the feelings associated with facing death.

“Are you sure this is what he wants? That’s the problem with believing in a supreme being: trying to determine what he wants.“

-Counselor Deanna Troi

Who Watches the Watchers is about the native residents of Mintaka III who mistakenly deify Captain Jean-Luc Picard. The civilization had accepted that not a god but the natural laws governed their world and lives. Liko hopes that ‘The Picard’ would be able to bring his wife and others back to life after their tragic deaths the year prior. Capt. Picard decides to break the Prime Directive and inform the leader of the native group that he was no god only a more advanced civilization. Even though Nuria accepts that the crew of the Enterprise and humans were simply an advanced civilization it was harder for Picard to make her understand that he didn’t have the powers of a god. In the end Liko shot Picard with an arrow and the blood of ‘The Picard’ was enough to convince them of his mortality.

“Horrifying… Dr. Barron, your report describes how rational these people are. Millennia ago, they abandoned their belief in the supernatural. Now you are asking me to sabotage that achievement, to send them back into the dark ages of superstition and ignorance and fear? No!“

-Captain Jean-Luc Picard

This civilization had abandoned the faith and belief in gods but at the mere thought of the possibility of overcoming death they regressed. I like to think that my mind has evolved beyond the thoughts and hopes of god claims but I fear what I will encounter when I inevitably interact with death myself. I have never put much thought into the finality of death until I was understanding or investigating my lack of belief. I can remember the first time I faced it; the phone call; the emotions; the tears that were shed, and that person wasn’t a member of my family.

“No, I wasn’t prepared at all. How can anyone be prepared to hear that a parent is never coming home again”

-Acting Ensign Wesley Crusher

The second episode that I want to talk about is The Bonding. The episode begins with an away team that is befallen with a tragedy and ends in the death of one of the crew of the Enterprise. Lieutenant Aster was killed in an accident in the caves of the planet while the team were exploring the abandoned war-riddled world. Her son, Jeremy, was left with no living parents as his father had been in an accident years before. Although the crew thought the world to be uninhabited, since the historic wars, through a series of events they learn of a race of beings that still lived there. One of the beings took the form of Lieutenant Aster in the hopes of keeping Jeremy from feeling the pain of losing his mother because of the senseless violence of their world.

“We are mortal, our time in this universe is finite. That is one of the truths all humans must learn.”

-Captain Jean-Luc Picard

Though their intentions were good they didn’t understand the value of coping with loss. As long-living, if not immortal, beings they do not have to face death and deal with the feelings associated with it. Captain Picard tries to explain that humans must face death and deal with the feelings associated with the loss because it is going to happen; we are not immortal. As good as the intentions were of the alien species for Jeremy a fictitious life is no way to live. We as humans must learn to accept death and learn to deal with it because it is going to happen.

Thank you Star Trek writers.

Remembering back as a younger person going to funerals and facing death was much less depressing than it is now. I was completely aware that even though this person was no longer going to be around we would all be reunited in Heaven. I know that children don’t fully understand death but my those thoughts continued well into my teen years and after. The first time that the gravity of death hit me after my faith faltered I remember quite vividly.

My wife and I were at the Cool Springs Mall when my mom called to inform me that a friend of the family, David McCroy, had passed away. The finality hit me so hard that I broke down into tears and it took quite a while for me to accept the news. This is quite a sight to see; I am a big guy and I was crying like a baby. I don’t make comedy to take away from the seriousness of the subject but to lighten the mood just a bit. I will also explain that because I didn’t know David very well I wasn’t crying because I had lost him; I was crying because I knew Denise, Laura, and Paige, his wife and daughters respectively, had lost their husband and father.

Before the situation above, the thought of death and loss weren’t nearly as bad for me. I was easily able to explain that I would see that person again in Heaven and didn’t actually feel any loss nor did I have any doubt in my faith because of this I could never explain to myself why everyone at the funerals were so upset.

I have accepted that Heaven likely doesn’t exist and that death is real, finite, and lasting. I am grateful that I have not had to deal with the loss of an extremely close relative but I have had many times that simply thinking about the loss has nearly put me in tears but I am able to pull through and deal with those feelings. I am not stating that I am ready for a death but I am confident that I can cope with the situation when it comes. Facing these feelings is extremely important for all of us; it would be quite easy to allow them to take over and go into a deep depression but it is more important to be strong, face it, accept it, and carry on.

Like the Mintakans I would rather stay in my state of mind than regress to safety of ignorance. We are human, we are mortal, we die, our friends die, our family members die. We must learn to deal with it to be able to live our lives to the fullest. Depression is a serious topic and affects many people and while medication is routinely used to help people we can’t rely on chemical effects to last forever. Understanding and facing the reason for the depression will always come with a better result than medication.

Please, I do not wish to insult anyone, I use the actual definition of the word ignorant; lacking knowledge or information. This is not intended to be an atheistic rant/blog; I also want to explain what lightens my mood when I am down and thinking about such heavy topics as death or if I’m just in a bad mood.

Laughter is the best medicine. I know you’ve heard it before but I want to testify to its potential. I attempt to make someone laugh or at lest smile everyday. A neighbor, a coworker, or even a family member; you never know who needs it. Sometimes it even helps me to see them smiling and knowing that it was me who caused it. I am obviously not the first person in the world to have thought of this; there are comedy troupes the world round whose shows and songs brighten the world. My favorite at the moment is the legendary Monty Python.

Monty Python has been brightening the world with their comedy since the 60’s. I doubt very much that you’ve never heard of them but if you haven’t you should look them up. The old black and white British comedy skits to the feature length films. Some of their skits and songs can have much deeper meaning if you examine the lyrics. I end this post with the lyrics to Always Look on the Bright Side of Life from ‘The Life of Brian’. Today I have sang, and whistled, it many times and it helps, it really does. Some of the lyrics are for a laugh obviously but the idea is profound, when something bad is happening or has happened simply think of the good parts of your life.

We are constantly surrounded by events, some good, some bad. How we come out on the other side of them is determined by our ability to cope with them. It is very easy to be overwhelmed by the bad; it happens everyday, but the good is more lasting. Family, friends, a job, a house, food, living. There is always something that can bring you down but there is also something to bring you up. Just give a whistle or maybe watch some Star Trek.

Click Here for the Video

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The Bright Side of Life

Some things in life are bad
They can really make you mad
Other things just make you swear and curse
When you’re chewing on life’s gristle
Don’t grumble, give a whistle
And this’ll help things turn out for the best…
And…

…always look on the bright side
of life…
(Whistle)

Always look on the light side
of life…
(Whistle)

If life seems jolly rotten
There’s something you’ve forgotten
And that’s to laugh and smile and dance and sing
When you’re feeling in the dumps
Don’t be silly chumps
Just purse your lips and whistle
– that’s the thing.
And…always look on the bright
side of life…
(Whistle)

Come on.

Always look on the right side
of life…
(Whistle)

For life is quite absurd
And death’s the final word
You must always face the curtain
with a bow
Forget about your sin – give the
audience a grin
Enjoy it – it’s your last chance
anyhow.

So always look on the bright side
of death…
(Whistle)

a-Just before you draw your terminal breath…
(Whistle)

Life’s a piece of shit, when you look at it
Life’s a laugh and death’s a joke, it’s true
You’ll see its all a show, keep ’em laughin as you go
Just remember that the last laugh is on you

And…
Always look on the bright side
of life…
(Whistle)

Always look on the right side
of life…

C’mon Brian, cheer up

Always look on the bright side
of life…

Always look on the bright side
of life…

Worse things happen at sea you know.

I mean – what have you got to lose?
You know, you come from nothing
– you’re going back to nothing.
What have you lost? Nothing.

Always look on the right side
(I mean) of life…

what have you got to lose?
You know, you come from nothing
– you’re going back to nothing.
What have you lost?

Always look on the right side of life…

Nothing will come from nothing ya know what they say?
Cheer up ya old bugga c’mon give us a grin!
There ya go, see!

Always look on the right side of life…

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