Well it is a very sad time indeed with the news of Robin Williams apparent suicide. I cant help but think back to the many, many parents/sons/daughters/friends/grandparents/co-workers/teammates/community members I met this past year who have lost someone close to them to suicide. Most people go through this sort of loss alone, disconnected from any kind of support or recognition of the tragic end to the person they lost. I have been in communities so torn from the effects and aftermath of suicide that I could hardly believe there was any hope to be had. Yet everywhere, every person, every community that I went through or got to know, there was a person or people refusing to sit and let it continue, or allow this ultimate loss result in hopelessness. I met activated citizens who had no platform to stand on or media to take interest in their story DOING something to make a difference for others. The constant thread of hope was I/We want to make sure this doesnt happen to somebody else…the silence needs to end…. Ive had the great gift of witnessing programs that make sense in communities or cultures that are effectively providing outlets that allow people who may be lost or living with no sense of purpose, or dealing with trauma sometimes passed on through multi-generations, allowing for a sense of self and belonging to begin to grow. Programs and people that are saving lives. There is so much more that needs to be done. The first step, I firmly believe, is to stop pretending this despair and hopelessness, the illnesses, do not exist. It is real and if anything, the loss of someone so massively public to suicide, I hope this loss can be a trigger for greater understanding, compassion, and action for change. My thoughts go to the family and loved ones of every person who has lost someone to suicide in the past, the present and future. Each day countless lives are lost and we need to start accepting this as reality. What needs to be done to change this reality I do not know. But we have to start somewhere and acceptance is the first step.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 17:03:28 +0000