oprah_winfrey_david_letterman_photoEvery week I try to put my life on hold to watch Oprah’s Lifeclass and Next Chapter on Sunday nights.  Lifeclass hasn’t started as of yet, but tonight’s big interview was with talk show host David Letterman.

David Letterman is a well known comedian who makes his big bucks from his talk show, jokes about other people, and his top ten list.  I can honestly say that I’ve come to love him over the years.  Despite his career as a funny man and a sex scandal that rocked his world and relationship, I always assumed that he was forthright and honest.

In regards to his indiscretions, humans err.  It’s in our DNA to make mistakes and he certainly paid for it.  He also admitted that he’s still trying to be a better person by visiting a psychiatrist once a week as well as repenting for his sins.

What really shook me was that he deals with depression.  There was a time where he felt that depression was a big sinkhole.  A downward spiral where he felt incapable of seeing the light of day.  However, he managed to go to work and be as funny as a depressed person could be.  So ironic, as this is the way I feel many days of my life.

I can’t say that I’m clinically depressed.  I’ve been depressed most mornings of my life.  I get depressed when I can’t see the light of day.  I get extremely depressed when I work so hard and the fatigue of my wheels spinning provokes me to throw in the towel….until the light of the next day comes.  I can’t give up.

As with many of us in this world, celebrities live the same lives as we do. Sometimes even more stressful.  They may have money and prestige, but their internal clock is much like ours.  We have the same coping mechanisms, the same mental and physical ailments, and the same perseverance to see the light of day.  I think that’s why we see so many celebrities turn to drugs these days.  They have the disposable income to turn “it” off but creating the buzz.

This interview was an ah-ha moment for myself as I realize that even though I wake up every morning and make mistakes along the way while trying to succeed, there are other people out there with more money and more success that are feeling the same as I do.  David is someone who’s mind works the same as mine.  I just do what I have to do to keep thriving despite the darkness.

Even though depression brings us down, the will to survive keeps us reaching for the stars.    We cannot allow the dark knight of the soul to win any of our life’s battles.  It’s our life and our choice to live it the best that we can with what we’ve got.

Thanks to David Letterman for his candor in tonight’s interview.  I think those who truly listened, learned a lot from your wise words.

 

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