Author Archives: justinsmithwrites1

… then the things you’re doing are not the things that make you happy. This struck me out of the blue the other day. And it seems super obvious, right? How many times do we hear something like, “If you’re not happy you need to do something different.” Or, “If you want to feel somethingContinue reading “If You’re Not Happy…”

I recently began re-listening to Lost Connections by Johann Hari, and, among other things, it has reminded me that depression is a group of symptoms more than it is a disease. Depression is a warning system alerting you to the fact that something is seriously wrong. There is so much good in this book, soContinue reading “Lost Connections”

There’s a lot of talk lately about either a new or an increasing “cancel culture.” There’s a lot of angst and fear from some circles. Two things. 1) There is NOTHING new about cancel culture. And, 2) today’s cancel culture is eminently tame in comparison to the cancel culture of the past. Cancel culture isContinue reading “Cancel Culture Thoughts”

“I’m pretty sure I saw you in the park the other day,” I wrote after Chrissy and I matched on Tinder. She responded with “ohhhh?” and a blushing emoji. “What did you see?” And suddenly I was very, very curious. What HAD I seen? I had seen a red-headed beauty dressed in black pants, aContinue reading “The Park Bench”

I have a folder in the Notes section on my phone entitled “Meaning of Life.” Every few weeks I seem to have a new focus, a new idea, a new outlook that’s meant to help me navigate this life better. To be happy really. It all comes down to an endless attempt to be happy.Continue reading “Life Is Suffering”

My biggest New Years Eve memory isn’t even from New Years Eve; it’s from the night before. I had just turned 22, had started in the fire department, had just bought a house that I’d move into three months later, and for the first time in my life was feeling pretty damn good about myself.Continue reading “New Years Memories”

Towards the end of 5th grade my class went to the auditorium for gym class. The way I remember it, there were a handful of stations, although what the first of those were I can’t remember at all. What I do remember is that I had gone through all of them except the last whichContinue reading “Dancing and Depression Memory”

My first memory might not even be a memory. See, there’s a picture of me being held by my uncle in our backyard, me pointing to the back corner of the yard, my uncle smiling and looking along with me. I’m probably three. And it’s because of the picture that I remember it. And yet.Continue reading “My First Memory”