WINTER is the most depressing season, but that doesn’t mean we don’t get hit with the blues any other time of the year. In recent years, it might not seem like there’s much to smile about anymore. We get down in the dumps with seemingly no way out of the dark abyss we’ve fallen into. Dealing with depressive times like these is a lot like pushing a giant wall of cactuses in the desert.

You see, there is a desert where rain hasn’t fallen, birds don’t dare fly, and people live dangerously close to a giant wall of cactuses. With a growing hatred for the laws of physics, these cactuses have grown into a wall much too large to support their own weight. This giant wall of cactuses is a hundred feet wide, fifty feet long, and over a thousand feet tall. All it brings is trouble.

Startlingly close to this giant wall of cactuses is a small desert town where people used to thrive, but not anymore. The giant wall of cactuses has been terrorizing the people of this desert town for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. It shows them no mercy. This giant wall of cactuses has been periodically raiding the desert town, robbing their banks, stealing their food, toasting their smartphones, stubbing their toes, ridiculing their children, and many other unspeakable things.

But one day, the giant wall of cactuses took things too far. The village mayor was killed. He was poisoned. The people of the desert village grew furious and tried to attack the giant wall of cactuses, but they were thwarted by a large Easter Island statue wearing a top hat. The top hat grants the statue great magic powers of illusion and trickery.

This statue, known as Hatrick, is the one who planted this giant wall of cactuses and commanded it to terrorize the people of this village. Hatrick has been casting an illusion spell on a regular cactus to make it appear like a giant wall. The cactus isn’t a massive wall of prickly terrorism, it’s just one lone cactus. 

In this story, the giant wall of cactuses can represent a lot of things. It could be a toxic friend you need to cut out of your life. It could be financial struggles. It could be depression, anxiety, loneliness, or any other struggle you’re dealing with. It may appear as a giant, insurmountable wall, but that’s because of Hatrick’s trickery. Hatrick may represent your insecurities or self-doubt, making your struggles appear much greater and harder to overcome. All you need is a little confidence and a lot of hard work, and you can push that giant wall of cactuses out of the desert in no time.