Why do we often shy away from melancholy?   Like it is some big bad ogre that needs to be avoided.

I’d been dancing in the midst of joy and happiness for months when I felt my old mate melancholy drift in several days ago – for no specific reason, perhaps it was just the season for it to reoccur.

Seeping ever so slowly into my thoughts, like rain clouds invading a summer’s afternoon.
I couldn’t identify from where it came, only that it was here again.

It’d been so long, I’d almost forgotten what it felt like.  But like an old long-lost friend, we soon became re-acquainted.

We spent the afternoon together, immersed in philosophical day dreams.

We listened to old songs that spoke truth to the soul.

We spent ages looking at the way the afternoon light shifted in my backyard.   Stopping still, to observe the subtle changes in the colours.

We listened  to the words that emerged from that deep place within, and allowed the pen to meet the paper.

I paid attention as it revealed new film characters to me, and the hint of a storyline.

And over the course of the afternoon, I became aware of the blessings that came with melancholy’s presence.

The heightened feelings present within my body

The sense of timelessness that had descended upon my afternoon.

The appreciation I felt for the present moment.

The awakefulness of my creativity.


And as I came to truly embrace melancholy, I felt it open up to reveal a deep state of gratitude.

It flooded through my body, overwhelming the heart, and spilling from my eyes in the form of tears.  And all I could do in that moment… was smile…

As I wiped the tears from my cheeks, I realized melancholy had gone.  But in doing so, it had left me a profound gift.

I look forward to the afternoon when melancholy drops by again…


* Image by Shawn Allen