A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones (Proverbs 17:22).

Most days, it feels like I have no end to the number of Eeyores in my life.  These are people who mope about, paint themselves in the role of the victim -- "not that it matters much, anyway," not as if anyone cares about their lifetime of pain -- and generally have a gloomy view of the world around them.  They're colored gray and blue.  Their posture is generally droopy.  And while they might be loveable in certain ways, there's only so much time I can spend in their presence before I start getting dragged down into the droopy, gloomy grayness of depression.  The weight from their shoulders starts to transfer itself to my own shoulders, and I feel myself being crushed beneath the burden.

But -- thank God! -- I also have a few Poohs in my life, breaking up the Eeyore-dominated landscape around me.  These are people who smile and laugh and enjoy the little pleasantries that come along from time to time.  They try to be helpful, even if the troublesome situations happen to be outside their areas of expertise or ability.  They think creatively and optimistically.  They're colored yellow and red.  Their posture is open and engaging -- you could even say huggable.  And when I get to spend time with some of the Poohs in my life, I only feel more energized and more prepared to march out into the fray of life.  Their conversation feels like medicine to my soul.  They ease my burdens and strengthen me on every side.

Without a doubt, a cheerful heart is good medicine.  Pooh-Bears, if you will, are life-giving miracle drugs.  But a crushed spirit dries up the bones.  Eeyores, if you will, are life-zapping bone cancers.  Some degree of spirit-crushing is inevitable, in a broken world like ours -- but we can't last long if we don't have some medicine from time to time.

I've simply come to realize that I need good medicine in my life -- and I want to be good medicine for others, too.  We all could use more Poohs in our lives, couldn't we?  And every Pooh that's created means there's one less Eeyore to deal with.