No one understands all of the thoughts running through your head.

No one can grasp the depth nor the darkness of the water that churns inside you.

No one can shift the current, nor calm the rapids.

You are on your own.

All alone.

Sinking.

In a black river.

A black river of misery.

But what if you paused for a bit?

Looked around, just a little.

What if you noticed someone else in the water?

Suppose you went ahead and offered them your hand, introduced yourself.

And they told you about a friend they knew, also treading in this endless black river.

Black river of misery.

And suppose that friend had a brother.

That brother had a cousin.

That cousin, a daughter.

And that daughter, a son.

All enduring conflicts of the mind.

Hopefully then you’d have enough perspective to look at life through a different lens.

Maybe you could zoom out on this black river.

And see it for what it is.

A river of life. Filled with countless people fighting countless battles.

Survivors.

You could see that the rapids,

Disappear around the bend.

And after that comes a stretch resembling a lazy river.

Like the ones you float with an inflatable tube at the amusement park.

With a frozen lemonade.

Still, difficulties remain.

No one can relate to all your thoughts,

No one can totally perceive the depth or the darkness of the water.

No one can make the river change course, or take the rapids away.

But at the very least. You can see that you’re not alone. And that you never, ever, will be.