Leo Tolstoy
Translated by
Dmitry Fadeyev
Depression is a spiritual state in which a person finds life meaningless, both his own and that of the whole world.
There are people who, being depressed or irritated, admire their condition and are even proud of it. This is the same as to let go of the reins of a horse carrying you downhill, and then start whipping it.
Depression and bad mood are not only torturous for the people around you, they are also infectious, which is why a decent person, just as he does everything that is unpleasant for others in private, yields to depression and irritation in private.
The notion that external causes have an effect on a person’s spiritual state is an error that is harmful and very common. The condition of the body, tiredness, hunger and illness only affect the mental state of a person who recognizes the spiritual foundation of his life in the sense that they weaken his activity, but they do not change its direction. Only the people who lead a solely external life (children, unreligious people) change their relationship to life as a consequence of external causes: they become depressed or irritated and blame or hate the things which they had previously praised and loved.
Do not believe yourself when everything appears in a dark light, when everyone seems guilty and wants to say or even do something evil. See yourself in this state as a drunk person, do not do anything and wait until this state passes. The less you do while in this state, the quicker it will pass—this self-restraint is as necessary as sleep is for one who is drunk.
The majority of people who are called evil have become the way they are only because they have assumed their bad spiritual state to be their rightful state and have surrendered themselves to it.
When the world seems ugly, when people seem unpleasant and unkind and all their actions stupid and vile, make haste to use this state by paying attention to yourself, and you will see in yourself things that you did not see before, and this recognition of your own vileness will benefit you.
Few misfortunes are hopeless; despair is more deceptive than hope.
— Vauvenargues
Never lose heart.
A human being must be happy; if he is unhappy, then he is at fault.
It seems to me that a human being must make it his first rule to be happy and satisfied. I should feel ashamed of my dissatisfaction as if it were a bad deed and should know that if I or something in me is not going well, then I should not tell others about it and complain, but try to quickly fix what is wrong.
Help me, Lord, to fulfill your will in purity, humility and love without ceasing to feel joy.
Both physical suffering and periods of low spirits are the fate of this life, and we must wait until both this and the other passes, or until this life itself comes to an end.
When you experience a feeling of dissatisfaction with everything around you and with your situation, retreat into the consciousness of your purpose in this world like a snail into its shell, and wait until the conditions that brought you to this state pass, and you will again have the strength to work on your life’s task.