Hello Mojo and John. I saw your post and wanted to add my thoughts. I too think that there is a hugh difference between depression and melancholy. However, I do not think that society in general agrees. I have tried to talk about this with other people, and they just don't get it. Even psychiatrist and psychologist do not recognize a distinction between the two. An inability to recognize the absolute depths of melancholy, the magnitude of both joy and sorrow contained therein, to me is truly sad. Imagine walking through life unable to experience the ectasy that is melancholy. To know happiness and saddness, but not their true faces, makes me shudder. I am interested in hearing what you both have to say.
Ray

Mojo,

You may indeed feel that way, but it was not evident at all in your original post. The following may sound harsh, but I really am not trying to be abrasive here ... i'm just trying to provide some illumination as to how your post could be interpreted by others (like me). Consider:

"Billiions of dollars spent to give old guys hard ons (viagra) and still there are children, right down the street who are suffering and dying of what should be curable illnesses... go figger."

... you're making a personal value judgement, right there. You're contrasting the billions spent on Viagra with the plight of the suffering, with the implicit conclusion that the billions spent on Viagra is a symptom of a problem with humanity, one which may be just a "growing pain" or indicative of the more grave assessment of a world "going to hell". This is a very one-sided view -- what if a doctor who spends long hours researching cures for diseases also suffers from erectile dysfunction? Where does he lie in your value spectrum? Are "old guys" not permitted to have "hard ons" in your view?

"and still we measure our body parts, our bank accounts, and the square footage of our domicile. As well as the hosepower, and the intrest rate?"

Again, value judgements are made here, and again with the same implied conclusion that something is "wrong" with humanity. Our primate ancestors (and indeed, most of our non-human coinhabitants on this planet) also often live according to a "bigger is better" rule, and we humans are as enslaved to our DNA as any non-human. One of the tenets of evolutionary thinking (which I subscribe to) is that the strongest instances of an organism are more likely to survive and breed future generations, and the sizes of various body parts, territories and / or possessions are very often associated with the strongest across many species, not just we silly humans. A large bank account / body part / domicile / etc. does not an evil person make, any more than a small (or no) bank account / slight build / small (or no) home a good person make. People with bank accounts large and small, builds sturdy and slight, houses expansive and minimal, have done good (and evil).

"We hoard money for a future that is uncertain."

... and this is a problem? "Saving for a rainy day" is somehow indicative of a character flaw?

"We walk about claiming that all we touch is, "mine" "

... and how do you explain the outcry over the privatization of public lands, for instance? Sharing is also a part of our evolutionary history, and we would not have evolved to where we are today without selflessness _and_ selfishness.

I'm not trying to take you apart, i'm only trying to point out that your original post came across as very negative (and not the "negative in a good way" that I associate with some aspects of melancholia). There is a very big difference, in my opinion, between a deep appreciation for the poignant beauty of the more reflective / somber side of life, and the overly negative, we're-all-so-f*cked-up, mankind is polluted to the core, judgement of humanity. The later leads to a lot of personal pain and suffering, as well as anger at the world in general due to the belief that it is at fault (when the truth is, we're all largely in control of our own destiny), and no one deserves to live that way. I've lived with people who exhibited those traits. Some of the people closest to me have taken every knock that life has given them as a personal affront, and because they continue to hold on to their pain and anger, they've become pained and angry people.

Pained and angry does not equal melancholia. Pained and angry is just sucky -- it's not beautiful at all.

Regards,

John, who doesn't want to see _anyone_ else end up this way, so he's very sensitive to this sort of thing

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