One study has said that one Australian in eight suffers from depression. That's 2.5 million Australians. By any description, that is a major problem today.
This post is for the seven out of eight who don't go through depression, but who will know someone who does. I just want to give a small insight into how they might feel at times.
In the Bible, a verse in 1 Kings says "he himself went a days journey into the wilderness, and sat under a tree, and prayed that he would die...". When you have depression, you may get to the stage of feeling your life was of no value at all, and you would rather be dead, that it be all over. I've been there myself, and luckily have made it back.
Depression can rob you of all happiness, all liveliness and all hope. You can feel completely drained and flat, seeing nothing of worth to stay alive for anymore.
When you feel that way, you have no energy left. No energy for being active (physical excercise can combat depression), no energy for positive thinking, and even no energy to move and sustain life (to get up, to eat, to be with others).
Each person who has severe depression needs to learn how to cope with these times. And their friends need to know that you can't 'just snap out of it'.
If by any chance you are reading this and are going through depression and feel you need help, then contact me - gcarrick@gmail.com - and I will be able to send out a booklet written by Ray Ewart, a very respected and wise friend of mine, which may be able to help you.
Maybe because it's my age, or just plain stubbornness, but I love showing that old things still work. And that not only do they still work, but they are imbued with a rare cool/funkiness factor that demands attention.
Part of the combined exhibition that I'm in with Kayleen are some photographs taken with 'old tech'. Cameras from the 30's, 40's and 50's, old films and pinhole lenses.
I still have (and use) my first ever camera, a box brownie that was also my father's first camera. Nowadays I need to re-spool some 120 film into it, as 620 is long gone.
I also have a Kodak bellows that needs 120 film, and a wonderful bakelite Kodak Baby Brownie from my father-in-law. That takes 127 film. Which can't be got in Australia, but can be imported from the USA.
The other day I was given another family camera, a Vest Pocket Kodak model B. This also takes 127 film. So I loaded it up and everything seems to be working as it should.
It will take a while to use the film, as I feel that such old equipment should be used to take photographs of older things.
I will keep you up to date on how it all pans out. Meanwhile here's some images taken with the other antique cameras.
Enjoy.
Art is usually handled with white cotton gloves, kept in humidity controlled conditions, and treated with a great deal of respect. It's not something you shove around, or leave up to chance.
Unless you're a little bit strange....
This latest art exhibition has been an excercise in trust. I was asked to show my photographs in a venue that had never held an exhibition before. The people there had not seen my work, or even met me. Faith.
Although the venue had blank wall space, there was no hanging system, and no lighting. "We'll get that done" I was ensured. Faith.
My work was looked at and discussed, and approved. But then things started to develop, and what I was planning to hang changed. A lot. More faith.
Then another artist surfaced - via Facebook. A local painter who wanted a venue to show her paintings. So I contacted her, via Facebook, and we made those tentative steps of two strangers feeling out whether this was a good thing or a big mistake. Faith.
The venue people were told, another artist is coming, trust me, her work is good. Faith again.
I was busy framing new photographs, the painter, Kayleen, was starting whole new paintings, five days before the opening. Big faith!
We organised the hanging system the day before the opening, and hung the works mere hours before the speeches. More faith.
It helped a lot that there was an unseen connection between us all that we were able to hold on to. We all had experience with the same faith. We were all christians.
That didn't make us perfect, or even reliable. But we all knew what trust and faith meant. We all had learned of it from the best source.
We had all lived some of our lives walking in the dark, holding onto a hand that we couldn't see, following a voice that we couldn't hear, moving towards a goal that would only appear in the future.
We had all experienced putting our trust in this man called Jesus.
When the dust had settled, we all agreed the opening was an amazing experience. Words were said that came from the heart, and went to others hearts. People came, saw and stayed for hours. New bonds were formed, and relationships were forged. God was at work.
It's nearly over now, just a couple of days to go before it gets packed up again. The art will come down, but the effect on people's lives will go on.
At this exhibition, the art was just a side show to the main event, the learning and acting in faith.
Each time you get cut off in traffic, or a neighbour plays music way too loud in the early morning, or you decide to eat the last Tim Tam without asking if your partner would like it, that's selfishness at work.
Each time someone decides they are more important than everyone else, selfishness is saying "eat my dust, suckers".
Selfishness is a direct result of the 'Me generation" lifestyle. The philosophy that says 'look after yourself first', and 'you are the most important person in the world'. The sad thing is, you find this philosophy plainly written in many 'self-help' books.
By any reasonable way of thinking about it, selfishness is a problem causer. It creates conflict. It escalates one above the many. It puts others down. It causes pain.
In the Bible it's called a sin.
It's a part of the human condition, which the Bible calls our fallen nature.
Thankfully, the Bible doesn't just identify the problem, it teaches a lifestyle that endevours to defeat the problem.
In a letter called Philippians, it says "let each of you regard one another as more important than himself."
What a life changing revelation! To treat other people as being more important than yourself, to give others then best, to give way, to think of others first.
It's a huge turn-around to the way the world pushes us to live. So how about just starting small. Work your way up slowly. Start to practice giving way on the road. Make way for people. Think about what you do, that you don't create a problem or more work for others.
Start to live with other people in mind.
We watched the seeming chicken scratches on the large screen mounted behind the Pastor slowly, oh so slowly change from random lines and blobs into the face of Jesus as he endured crucifixion. Local artist Kayleen West painted unseen behind the screen as the Careforce Pastor gave his message on the sacrifice of Christ to end the pain of sin for the sinner.
It was powerful to be reminded that good (a holy God) overcame evil (hatred for people like you) in the ultimate plot twist - just when Satan was crowing over a crucified Jesus, he lost the game by that very death.
I feel humbled to know that in a small way, 'I was there' as my sin kept Christ on that cross, and Jesus was motivated to go through all that because he loved me.
I only met Kayleen a month ago, via facebook, and in that time we've put on a combined art exhibition at Monbulk, entitled "I Have a Dream". The team at the Monbulk Dream Centre, 17 Moores Rd Monbulk, went out of there way to set up their facility to show our art. Picture rails and lights were installed just for the exhibition.
I have a range of photography works on show, and Kayleen has both oil and watercolour paintings on display. All are for sale.
It's open Tue April 6th and Wed April 7th between 1 pm and 4 pm. Drop in and say hello!
