Saturday photo

Little acts of love, and a 'splash of colors'...
...an antidote to an all-engulfing strange feeling of emptiness.

In the past two months or so, I have been receiving many presents from students and colleagues - for no 'big' reasons.  I am not really into flowers or chocolates or 'cutesy' stuff, but I do appreciate thoughtfulness and kindness... those expressions of sincere and warm caring... including those in the form of 'cutesy' stuff.  Sometimes a mere hint of a smile or a little nod of encouragement is more than enough for me especially 'when the going is tough', and I need to keep going even when I'm not all that tough.  

I work hard... like a 'maniac' sometimes because I'm driven by a sense of mission, and I am overly aware of how short life can be.  Therefore, I rarely find the time to 'smell the flowers', but our students and some colleagues (and my family, of course) bring me 'the garden'... and in such impeccable timing, too, which is whenever I need it.  That keeps depression at arm's length.  Yes, depression is REAL, and so is the feeling of anxiety.  And that strange feeling of 'emptiness' that hits us out of nowhere sometimes - that is real, too.  They can pull one into a dark, frightening abyss; can plague the mind with disturbing images, distorted by self-doubt and paranoia, and can poison reasoning and emotion to illogical hysteria; can drown one's hope in a sea of grave sadness so utterly deep and all-engulfing, they can leave one in a total emotional wreck, out of control; can leave a paralyzing heavy weight on one's chest that not even the happiest of memories can lift.  They are numbing, devastating, and can shatter one to pieces.  But they can be OVERCOME - with love, and with faith in God.  And that is MORE REAL!  

There is plenty of love around - in our campus... especially in the Faculty of Engineering of the University where I teach, and God's presence can be felt from all the love and deep caring.  I hope that our students find them... and if they don't find these little nuggets of love and those little packets of soothing balm for the soul on their own, I hope that they'd reach out, or holler for help.  I hope that they'd muster the courage to open up and reach out... and we'll be there with outstretched arms, reaching out to them, too.  They need not drown in sorrow; they need not be devastated by depression; they need not be left numb by anxiety; they need not dwell in that dark abyss of grave sadness and melancholy. There is help.  There is love - pure love of family and friends, of mentors and peers... true, deep and endless love that is God, and it's REAL!

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