"Hymn to Intellectual Beauty" and Depression

Alright so I'd like to talk about something important today and it's tied to a poem titled "Hymn to Intellectual Beauty" by Percy Shelley.

And that, my classmates, associates, friend and family is depression.

Upon reading the poem through the first time I struggled to understand what it was trying to make sense of, but after doing some online research it became very clear that the poem was referring to a feeling rather than a person or spirit.

Essentially the narrator is speaking about how when Beauty is not around everything seems dull, frightening and solemn. It's like looking through a fog or feeling like you're a million miles away from people even when they're just two feet away from you. You go through the motions of living but you're not actually living.

Basically you feel like this:

So to lack the sense of beauty, in my mind, means to be depressed.

However when beauty is present you are able to see things in technicolor and feel the wind caressing your skin while the smell of the nearby flowers comfort your nose. Of course, even when your depressed you can still see things in color and feel the physical things, but what you lack is the appreciation.

Obviously you don't have to be all smiles all the time and jumping up and down with excitement when beauty is present. Like, this broccoli that clearly needs to chill.

You just feel more light, airier and like the world makes sense.

As someone who has suffered from depression in the past and has pushed through a day in the life of a young adult I know what it's like to be wandering in that fog and then to reach a point where I have clarity and am able to see again. Those times where it feels like I can see and am energized are the best. Beauty is present and I can see it all around me.

It's like, when you're depressed you'll see the flowers in a garden bed and be like "Oh flowers. Guess they're pretty."

But when beauty is present (Ie when your world is at peace and there is a sense of happiness or content) you're like "HOLY SH*T THESE FLOWERS ARE GORGEOUS LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL."

But maybe not in all caps. Again, we're not that broccoli up there that just can't calm down.

In short, Intellectual Beauty represents the feeling of being content, thankful, happy, and at peace. Where as when said beauty is absent one feels dismal, fatigued, and like the world is stagnant.

So, my darlings, I hope that you see things in color and taste the beauty of what life has to offer like this cat.

Peace out for this week!