Depression. Wear it like a blaket.  

Depression is kind of comforting sometimes. I believe it was Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins who coined the phrase "I'm in love with my sadness" in their mosh-pit ballad "Zero".

Well, I don't listen to the Pumpkins anymore, and I'm pretty sure I'm not in love, but I think there's some truth to Billy's sentiment. People associate depression with gray clouds and rainy weather and feelings of isolation. Loneliness stings, and it lingers like a hangnail or a toothache. However, it's not abject pain that we're experiencing. We are empathizing with ourselves, or "feeling sorry for ourselves" even though that's a tilted way of looking at it.

We need to know that our lives are important, even if they aren't. We look to others to "validate our feelings" and thus our existence. In essence, I have come to believe that feelings of isolation begin with the startling realization that in the broad scope of the universe, spread out across the vast expanse of time, we are in fact very small and, yes, somewhat insignificant.

Who am I? What is my purpose in the world? In my opinion, these kind of questions smooth the surface. it is the question that defines us. Not the answer. If there was an answer, I believe that our lives would be completely drained of color and meaning. So, the next time you're feeling sad, embrace that feeling, for it's part of being human.