Might be a bit serious this one, apologies in advance. You see, despite what I show on the outside to other people (don't lie, we all have a "public" face), I am quite an emotional old boy. I cry at sad films, can't listen to Vera Lynn singing "We'll meet again" without eyes filling with tears (no silly comments please) and sometimes when I think of friends and relatives that I have loved but are sadly no longer alive. Equally, I laugh very readily, having a silly and rather cutting sense of humour and tend to make a joke of most things, perhaps sometimes when I shouldn't. Which brings me to the point....
I read in a newspaper, (on-line, I'm very modern like that) yesterday, or perhaps the day before, about a young man of 33, well, young to me anyway, that had taken his own life. His relatives and friends all agreed that he was a great chap, popular, excelled at his job, handsome and seemed to have everything to look forward to. Yet he chose to hang himself and tragically, his father found him. When I read this, I am not ashamed to say that I cried. Now, I have no idea what made this lad do such a thing, he must have been very troubled inside, but it seems no one knew how he was suffering. His family must be devastated, particularly his poor father who will never forget that moment when he found his son. That's the point you see, the "public face", we all have one. The thing is, if there is something troubling you that much, you have to let someone see it. Like laughter, tears, anger, joy, just don't be afraid of showing how you feel. People that love you will understand, because basically they feel the same things. No matter what we experience in life, great times, terrible times, they never last. I once read in a very famous book the words "and it came to pass". Meaning that nothing lasts forever, things change, sometimes at the blink of an eye and just when you think you can't endure any more, suddenly things become easier and the way forward clear to see. Living is full of unexpected gifts every day, but life is the most precious gift of all. Live long and prosper. Keep reading please, I will make the next post a fun one!
A great post, on a sensitive subject. Someone once told me that it's the worst thing in the world to outlive your son and I quite believe that: what suffering this must cause for the father.
ReplyDeleteI was watching Stephen Fry's "The secret life of the manic depressive" the other day and he describes the extreme depressed feeling (such as the son presumably felt) as "bad weather" - it's very REAL to a depressed person and not something they can change.
Thanks for the great read so far and keep up the good work.
Very thought provoking blog. What a sad story. I hadn't really thought about "and it came to pass" meaning what you've described as nothing lasting forever. That's a good phrase to bear in mind. Thank you
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