A long time ago, or not so long ago (depending on your perspective), I hit a bit of a low point in my life.

It was the kind of low point that forces many people into a pit of depression from which they never climb out of again.  I wallowed in that pit, feasting on regret, self pity, despair and desperate loneliness for quite some time.  The attractiveness and enticement of an endless sleep to shut out the pain, grew and grew to the point of almost claiming me as yet another mid-life suicide statistic...

But just when I was convinced that there was no hope of ever pulling myself out of that cold dark hole, I realized that somebody had thrown me down a rope. More than that, somebody had thrown me down dozens of ropes and all I had to do was grasp onto them and I would be hauled out of that pit of despair and back into the light.

Melodramatic metaphors aside, this is a pretty accurate description of how the whole situation seemed to me, and once I made the choice to take hold of those lifelines, I found something quite surprising at the other end.  I found something that most people very rarely appreciate in the same way that I now do…  I found my friends. 

Last week was my birthday and as has become customary, ever since those dark times, I have spent the entire week meeting up, boozing up and celebrating with as many of my friends (old and new) as possible.  I half joke that the date of my birth should be marked as a significant public holiday, and that it's only reasonable to celebrate the coming of such a gift to the world for an entire week.  But underneath these jokes there is a deeper true reason for my extended celebrations.

One single day is simply not enough time to spend being with and appreciating the company of my friends.  I celebrate because I am thankful to be alive, I am thankful that the phantom of depression fled from the light I now find around me. I celebrate because for me, every year that has passed since that time, when my life so very nearly came to an end… has been a gift.  I am thankful that I am able to smile and laugh and joke again.

But most of all, I am thankful that I have friends.  Friends from before those dark times and friends that I'm only just getting to know.  You are all far more important than you may think.

You saved me.

Thank you.