Melancholy

Some days are just off. You find yourself wondering how to pass the time and engage in random activities. The activities themselves don’t need to have any meaning. You just do something, anything, as if your mind is stuck in a cycle of indecision and laziness. And before you know it, BAM! It’s 2 AM, and you’re still staring at your computer monitor. Where did the time go? “Ah, life sucks!” you declare, while continuing to stare, mindlessly browsing, munching on unhealthy snacks that chip away at you bit by bit. Then comes yet another resolution (in vain) to change yourself and upgrade your life first thing the next morning.

The cycle of melancholy that seeps into life every now and then is a cruel master. It makes you its slave, draining every ounce of energy you had. It engulfs your mind, clouds your judgment, and pulls you back into dull, lifeless routines. It prevents you from accomplishing anything and forces you to surrender to it. And yet, from time to time, it makes sure you remember how miserable you feel as a person, while it laughs and jeers at you in the background.

But here’s the truth: it happens to all of us To the best of us, the worst of us, and anyone who fits the description of a mortal human being. Melancholy is perhaps one of life’s constants, much like change. You can’t avoid it, you can’t plan for it. It’s always lurking in the corner, sneering, waiting for the right moment to pounce. And when it does, it drains your motivation and slowly gnaws away at your character.

The only escape I know from its cold, foreboding touch is to wait. Simply wait until it passes. Don’t try too hard to push it away. It begs you to fight back because it feeds on your struggle. It laughs at your attempts to cure yourself. It loves a fight, because it knows it will win in the end. So instead, make peace with it. You don’t need to like it. Just treat it like one of those relatives you’re forced to shake hands with at a family gathering once a year. You hate it, but you deal with it and move on.

Wait for the unpleasantness to fade. Then slowly, gather yourself, pick up the pieces, and push forward. Melancholy hurts, just minimize the damage you allow it to do on you.