Gloomy programmer

Lately, I've been feeling depressed. I think it's about my work, but I'm not sure. Below are three somber stories that are in my head. I am hoping that blogging about it will help me clear it from my memory, and I can start thinking about other happier things.

The cartographer

(this is based on a short story I read about 10 years ago. I cannot find any reference to it). There was a man and his wife.  The man was a good man, and he loved his wife. He wanted to provide for his wife, and he found a job as a cartographer. In those days, a cartographer made maps by physically going to uncharted territories. In the beginning, he found the constant travel tiring and he missed his wife. He wrote letters to his wife and went home to visit as often as he could. Over time, without realizing how, he felt more and more comfortable away from home and his wife. Eventually, he wrote to his wife telling her that he would remain on the road and that he would never return home.

A pair of dogs

(this is based on something someone told me). There was a farmer. He had two dogs; a boy and a girl. The dogs would spend some of the day with the farmer, but would often go somewhere on their own. One day, the dogs returned from their adventure and the farmer saw that the dogs didn't have an appetite. This happened for two straight days, and the farmer became worried. The next morning, the farmer found one of the dogs dead. The next day, the other dog died.

A programmer

(this is my story) For the last year, I've been building and nurturing a project. It started as my own small seedling idea. I was overjoyed when I had a proof of concept to demo. It grew to be a major feature that everyone was excited about. Lots of people had opinions on what should be done next. There were so many discussions that everyone stopped working. The project is now suspended; pending UI reviews, business planning, etc... I am now working on some other project, and I have a hard time understanding why.