Live

This morning I found out a dear friend lost her young niece by suicide: the permanent solution to a temporary problem.

If you are at all sensitive, perceptive, or empathetic, this world seems very cruel because you are keenly aware of suffering and inequality.  Most of us do not have the power to easily alleviate suffering or correct inequality.  It leads to a state of impotent frustration.

The Next Day, by John Porcellino, Paul Peterson, and Jason Gilmore. The Next Day is a graphic novella based on extensive interviews conducted with four suicide attempt survivors.

I can think of a few solutions.  Create art.  Art can last a long time and affect many people.  It will also give you an outlet for the frustration you feel.  You can create sad art to give an expression to your melancholy.  You can create joyful beautiful art to uplift your spirits from their depths.  Great art is sincere.  You do not have to force a situation, to “make yourself depressed”, in order to make great art.

Connect with people. Protest. Resist. Help people, animals, or Mother Earth. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Don’t be too proud to be grateful.

left: attributed to Banksy
right: Finley Peter Dunne (1867 – 1936)

If I had given in to the temptation to end it all in my 20’s, I wouldn’t have the knowledge of how to deal with suffering.  Suffering is universal.  You can give meaning to your suffering if you live.  If you live you have the opportunity to rise above the cruelty and the injustice.

Please live.

©2015 Marion Pennell