thebridgechicago:

jkhayz asked: Hey! First, I just wanted to say that the resource you guys are providing is great. Second, I need some advice on how to help a friend. He’s been struggling with depression, deeply, but won’t talk about it more than the surface level. In August, he leaves for the Marines. But he has recently been saying things like that’s he’s never coming back and that he is just going to die in the marines anyway and has nothing left here. I pray for him and let him know I’m here but I’m still worried. Advice?

I answered: I feel for you and your friend in this situation. I can’t imagine the stress of joining the Marines, but I have struggled with depression, as have many mature Christians I know. So let that be an encouragement for you in your concern, a lot of people have been through this and gotten a handle on it. I would say that includes biblical figure like David and Paul, who both very much struggle with their mental state in the scriptures.

I think you have good instincts in how to handle this. The thing about depression is: it is not a rational state of being. Because of that, rational arguments against it tend to be ineffective. Depression has a way of warping and distorting everything, and that can burrow deeply into someone’s mind. I have always thought that Romans 12:2 is about depression:

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Depression robs someone of their ability to see that God has something good for them, and to overcome it you need some brain rewiring. 

The thing about brain rewiring is that you can’t do it for another person. You can really only do what you are doing, pray and be there. The most helpful thing I was reminded of was that God promises that it won’t always be this way. Revelation 21:4 says one day “there will be no more tear or mourning of crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” So it will get better, that is God’s promise to him and it is a story that he can see lived out by others.

So stay the course of praying and loving, but don’t put the pressure of solving someone else’s depression on yourself. Depression is like some other long-term issues in that someone doesn’t move past it until they decide to move past it. One of the most brutal things about depression is that after a certain time, it saps your will to do anything other than be depressed. But you can be there to say “when you are ready to move past this thing, I will be there for you” which will both be a comfort in friendship and remind him that there is a time when he will want happiness more than depression.

-Matt From The Bridge

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cosmoses:

downtownfrombehind by bridget fleming

planetickets:

“Rule My World” by Kings of Convenience

I talk before I think.
You shoot before you know who’s in your line of fire.
So somehow we’re the same, we’re causing people pain.
But I stand and take the blame, you scramble to deny it.

nickquirino:

From Discover magazine, October 2010, 30th Anniversary issue

lovepatty : nanay

karriebear:

I saw this man on the Metro this past Monday, and asked him who the flowers were for. They were for his wife. They’ve been married for 47 years. Every Monday, he brings her home flowers after work. My heart died at that moment.

<3

fuckyeahblackwork:

Blackwork shoulder by Manuel Winkler, Clockwork Tattoos.

alwayshustle:

Shane Pitchford. I remember when my buddy hadleigh introduced me to this guy and after a few beers the tats started coming out. As soon as I saw that back piece I have never seen a more impressive piece of work since…nuts

highb100d:

cocokat:

nekoconsulting:

prettyflyforaredspy:

christans-inferno:

moonkistforlife:

spaceshadowfax:

there-is-no-pumpkin:

jinnymoose:

pedoshaming:

mpreg-sama:

cataquack:

lisa-trevor:

:’(

oh my god….

my heart grew three sizes that day

for a second i was really skeptical since i didnt remember this segment

but after watching this i think it was handled really really well and realistically

good job klasky csupo

jesus im crying now

BRB SOBBING FOREVER

And now, with kids shows, we’re afraid to touch on subjects like death, divorce, and homosexuality, lest the parents phone up and throw a bitchfit. Television was educational not in that it taught us how to count by twos or what the word indigenous meant, but in the way it taught us life lessons in a way we were able to see, understand, reference and relate to. Television shows like this were guidebooks for parents, good tools to use when having a talk with kids about the death of a family member, friend, or even a pet. Saying things like “remember how Chuckie found that picture of his Mommy, and his Dad showed him all the things she used to have, and the poem she wrote for him?” gets the kid in the right mindset- and now?

Now we’ve got shows based on “randomocity”, slapstick humor without purpose, and full thirty minute slots packed tight with mindless one-liners and lessons in how to catch jellyfish with a net if you live underwater as a yellow sponge.

I’m not saying we didn’t have our set of shows like that, with silly nothingness, but there were so many more shows with valuable lessons than there are today. That’s why shows like My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, are receiving such volumes of attention: they are heading in the right direction, brushing subjects that other kid’s cartoons neglect for fear of backlash.

im am literally in tears </3

oh god OH GOD WHY DONT I REMEMBER THIS SJFBHJSBHFS

SKDJFLJSDLFKJD

TEARS

TEARS EVERYWHERE.

Oh god, I remember tis episode. I was young enough that it’s meaning didn’t hit me then, but I understand now and DFGSDF GOD RUGRATS YOU WERE SUCH A GOOD SHOW ;n;

tears

everywhere

</3

<3

planetickets:

“How Long” by Avalanche City

How long you looked for and never found a thing?
And how long you loved for, but did nothing?