Climbing up a well

Climbing up a well where the walls are covered with that slippery stuff rocks get covered with under water is not an easy task. You lose your grip and fall to the floor, over and over again. You can see the sky and you hear “you can do it!”. Someone lowers a rope for you but its too short. You climb up the wall, can’t reach the rope and the person up there loses interest and lets go. A rock comes loose and you fall. The rock hits you and you’ll have to stay at the bottom for a while to heal the wound and gather some energy. 

Someone finds a longer rope, a bucket and some food. They sends the bucket with food down to you and ties the rope for you to climb up when you can. Those on the surface can’t pull you up, you’ll have to do it yourself. 

The wound is healed, you’ve gathered some energy from eating and try climbing. You climb for a while but fall again. At the bottom you look at what you’ve got. A bucket. A rope, secured att the wells’ top. A shorter rope. A rock. Not much. But you want to get up there so you call for help. Someone asks what you want. You ask for a plank and shoes with a lot of grip. Those up there can’t get you up but they can help you with that. And so they deliver.

It’s still dark, you’re still alone in your struggle to get up and you haven’t got much at your disposal, but the rope is secure and it’s not slippery like the walls. Your plan will require some practicing and it’s time to get going. You lace your new shoes. Climb a meter or two. Oh yes, you get enough grip to be able to lock the rope between your feet. Down again. The same thing, up and down, a little further each time, to get stronger. It’s a deep well and you won’t be able to do it in one go, but you get stronger and that’s what’s important.

With the help of the rock you get the metal handle off the bucket and through the plank. It’s not easy since the handle bends to one side and then the other, but finally it’s where you want it. You bend it into a loop and pull the shorter rope through. You call out for some more food which arrives a while later. You eat some of it, tie the new bucket with the remainder of food at the end of the shorter rope and tie the other end around you. Then you climb. 

Since you’ve practiced you know about how long you can climb, and before you’re exhausted you lock the rope between your feet, carefully let go of the rope with one of your hands, and pull the plank up. You wedge it between the rocky walls and suddenly you have somewhere to sit and rest. When sitting there you tie a knot on the rope, both for the part it soon will play, but also so it, it you’re lucky, can give you something to grip onto if you fall. 

When you’ve rested and eaten you stand on your newly tied knot, grab the rope with both hands, take a deep breath, pull yourself up momentarily and kick the plank. You’re quickly back with your feet at the knot so that when the plank reaches the end of the rope, you won’t fall. Then you climb, again. Those on the surface cheers you on, they want you to succeed.

After doing the same thing over and over again, you’re finally able to pull yourself over the edge. You’re tired, wet, wounded and scarred. For so long you haven’t seen anything other than the walls of the well and a small piece of sky, far, far away. But now the sun is shining. The grass is green. The birds are chirping and the wind is whirling. 

You had nothing but you made a plan, asked for help and you did something. You took the risk of falling every time you kicked the plank, but since you were thinking ahead you made your knots, and since you practiced ahead you were strong enough to hold your entire weight in your arms when required. The others couldn’t get you up but they could help you when you told them what you needed.

No one can bring you out of depression FOR you, you’ll have to do it yourself. But you’ll have to ask for help since you probably won’t be able to do it alone. The tools have to come from somewhere, down at the bottom of the well you won’t find any.