What is the difference between being “depressed” and “discouraged?
I believe there is an enormous difference. I agree with the way Gelernter puts it: “Depression is a pathological state. If it’s bad enough, physicians can treat it. Discouragement is a moral state, a failure of heart; you treat it by taking courage, not Prozac.” Although sometimes profoundly discouraged, I never lose faith or heart in the living out of my death. Yet I cannot deny it is often a struggle; but to live life to the very end with dignity and purpose is the proposal God sets forth for us. To suffer the slings and arrows of a thousand misfortunes and see life out until our deaths is not a childish task. As Emerson with an air of bitterness soberly reminds us: “Our faith comes in moments; our vice is habitual… Know that thy life is… a tent for the night, and do thou, sick or well, finish your stint.” That is why I find courage to be absolutely indispensable in life – one reason I like Hemingway so much is because he writes so powerfully and poignantly about the precious vit
