I need inspiration to live through these endless lockdowns
Question, with context given afterwards: what would you say to someone who has done everything right in life, but has lost everything as a result of the ideologically-driven lockdowns, and needs inspiration to live? Hello, Words can’t describe how incredibly useful your books, your lectures, your talks, and your podcasts have been to me to survive this far. Even before the pandemic, your work had improved my life in a 1000 different ways. As the 10th lockdown is forced upon us in Ontario, I have been dipping lower and lower into my depression. I have major depressive disorder, and I take medication, as a direct result of the lockdown. I was suicidal for the better part of 18 months. I have been talking to a phenomenal therapist, and I have been making progress, but I feel myself slowly slipping into those feelings. In the past when I was suicidal, I was extremely weak. Now it seems like the logical decision, since there is no end in sight to the lockdowns. It’s not easy for me to write these words, but my therapist has asked me “what would Jordan Peterson say to you?” Sometimes I would be able to recite something inspiration I’ve heard in your lectures, and sometimes I am so low, I don’t know, and my response is “something inspirational”. If my feelings and situation could be depicted in a movie scene, it would be when the librarian, Brooks, from the movie “Shawshank Redemption” killed himself. I don’t have any fight in me to try and change myself, or my circumstances anymore. I’ve tried everything. Through endless hours of your lectures, endless hours of talks with my therapist, and endless hours of research about human psychology, I have no more fight in me. I have whittled away, and am struggling to find a reason to persevere through these ideologically-driven lockdowns. Having done so much work to learn about myself, and better myself, and I cannot live in lockdowns. They are antithetical to who I am. Two of the traits that stand out (after doing your test) were 1% agreeableness, and 99% conscientious. I don’t have the funds, or the means, to escape these lockdowns. Pre-lockdowns I was studying full time, working part time, and volunteering part time for a non-for-profit. I used to be disciplined with the gym, and my diet. I also took time to read everyday (the last book I was reading was the gulag archipelago), and I was entrepreneurial: creating my own charity. Over the months of the first lockdown, I had withered away from my past self, and have not been able to pick up anything from my old routine. So to repeat my question: what would you say to someone who has done everything right in life, but has lost everything as a result of ideologically-driven lockdowns, and now needs a reason to live?
Creativity's link to not growing up
I have listened to your explanation on 2 different concepts that you have previously spoken of in some of your lectures, namely creativity/the artistic temperament and the mythological motif of Peter Pan and its parallels to growing up. My question is this: Do you believe that there could be a correlation between the fact that a creative/artistic person is by nature more than one thing or perceives himself differently over time. (Your phrase: "you're one thing the one day and something else the next'') and the mythological motif of Peter pan not growing up. To grow up you have to let go of certain parts of yourselves, some of your potential, in order to become something. Is the artistic personality some stubborn part of a person not willing to let go of his/her potential in any respect but rather cultivating the whole of him-/herself slowly or maybe someone constantly letting go and rediscovering his/her potential in different fields?