Frustration

A good friend told me recently that, “I think frustration mostly stems out of knowing where you want to be but have no idea how to get there.” Maybe that seems pretty commonsensical to you, but it struck me rather forcefully.

I’ve been struggling for a few days with a depression bordering on despair. When my friend said this, a light went off. Yes, I want to do something, to get somewhere, but when I try to think how to do it, to get there, I find I really don’t even know where to start and this is the source of the problem. Continually approaching the problem from different angles has only resulted in more frustration at my impotence. My inability to make headway adds to the depression. Almost as if walls were being thrown up in front of me at every turn. What to do? John Keats said:

I am in that temper that if I were under water, I would scarcely kick to come to the top.

And there it is. What to do? Kick and keep kicking till you break the surface. Sore muscles may go with it, but it beats the alternative.