Why Birds Sing

"Do you know why birds sing just before dawn? Scientists believe it's to tell their mates they made it through the night, as a way of saying, 'I made it. I'm still here.' Maybe that's why we sing, too, why we create art - as a way of saying, 'I made it. I'm still here.'" - Jeff Goins

I don't usually post things like this, but lately I've been thinking about depression and anxiety. Both run in my family, and I have suffered both serious bouts of depression as well as chronic anxiety. And yet, I feel there is still such a stigma around mental illness in society as a whole.

Depression [or fill in the blank] is not a character flaw. It is a chemical imbalance. If you suffer from it, I hope you will get help. I did in the form of therapy and also medication, and I don't regret either one.

Do what you need to do to survive. And because you're still here, I hope you will do something really extravagant like climb a mountain, or write a song, or make a painting. Just as a way of saying, "I made it. I'm still here."