TO WRITE: Are you "bogged down"?
An email crossed my screen recently with a question that was attributed to, or arose from, Oprah's discussion of Eckhart Tolle's ideas: What makes you feel less bogged down?

That phrase "bogged down" makes me think of swampy muck tugging at my rubber boots; it makes me think of the poem Picture of Depression by Jo Bobbie in my book (p. 89). Both evoke good heavy images and feelings of depression -- ones that could help non-depressed people ("neurotypicals," as one student calls them) get a clue about how a real depression really feels.

Play with this. . .
Consider that weighty feeling of being bogged down, then consider its opposite -- feeling buoyant and agile and free to move and be yourself. Now write continuously (without stopping to think a lot about what word or idea is coming next) for 20 minutes on what lifts you from one state to the other; what makes you feel less bogged down? It might be a healthy meal, a chance to sit in nature and just think, a new part-time job, running a marathon, talking to a friend, counting your blessings or writing in your journal. You might be able to generate a list you can turn to later when you really need it. After you write, determine what one thing you can do for yourself right now to feel less bogged down, and do it.