For me, it used to be my career. Without going into detail, it was a public service type occupation where I could really help people. However, I was battling depression, anxiety, and addiction, and after being hospitalized and jailed multiple times, I lost that career. Even while I was going through all that dark stuff, I felt great at my job helping people, and I feel like I was good at it.
Now, I have a different career that I still feel good about doing, but I can never shake the feeling that I’ll somehow mess this one up too, eventually. My doctor told me I have to be active, so I took up longboarding. I still have bad depression with frequent bouts of suicidal thoughts, but when I’m on a bicycle or longboard, that’s the only time I feel really at peace with myself. I wish I could feel like that all the time.
Do you have things you do that make you feel like that? Like you’re really free?
Cycling, outdoors. The longer I am holding the handlebars, pushing the pedals, the quieter my mind gets. It’s not long into each ride before I completely lose track of time. All the while enjoying natural scenery, reaching high summits of uninhabited areas near my town, exploring the area in a manner that all the natural beauty I can perceive gets strongly imprinted into my memory -my heart is pounding. I really love cycling.