“You think you Know but You have NO IDEA”

BY AL KING


I was prompted to write this post after hearing about an unfortunate suicide of someone that I personally knew. Shockingly, I just couldn't fathom this person harming ANYONE much less themselves. This has only affirmed my strong stance in understanding that you never know what a person is dealing with in their own world. I could only imagine that they have issues that are biting at their spirit while they feel as if the walls are closing in with no other way out. As we cross the paths of many in our daily interactions, a smile doesn’t constitute that everything is good.
Even….a simple salutation of “How are you doing” and the reply being “Everything is fine” can be an extension of a wall that someone is hiding behind. With perfect reason, it’s not easy for a person to let their guards down and share what may be disturbing them.  That constraint usually results in the suppression of these vices that may only lead to a person reaching a breaking point—that is sometimes fatal. As humans, we all respond to situations differently because we are all built differently—some of us are strong where others are weak. Many variables lead to a person becoming frustrated and considering giving up. These life bumps can easily be chalked up as a part of life but are also what drives one to a breaking point.  They may be dealing with one or many factors all at once. It may be a relationship coming to an end, bills that continue to go unpaid, the pressure of finding or losing a job or being homeless because of an eviction or foreclosure. Pressure is something that affects us all differently. 
 
Please hear me loud and clear on this as I repeat it again—you DON’T know what someone is dealing with. You only know what a person shares with you and that may never happen. I don’t care how long you’ve know them you may have no inclination that there is something eating at the core of their spirit. Especially when some of us have mastered being one way that is in no way a representation of who they really are.  One thing that plays a major part for all of us is—SUPPORT. There may be times that the storm is more than we can handle on our own, the benefit of having the support of others in our lives. Should problems arise, we know that we are not facing them alone. In the absence of support, one is left feeling helpless and hopeless. Any chance we get, that’s why it’s imperative that we serve as a constant crutch to one another. Even in a casual conversation you may (without even realizing it) be providing some therapy to someone that may be on the cusp of harming themselves. Your words may have depleted those intentions, so never underestimate the power of words or the potential in every moment to change what you may not be aware of. We selfishly get so consumed with living our own lives that we forget about nurturing the ones around us. Sadly, it may take the drastic loss of those connected to us to then understand the difference we could have made while they were here. My prayers go out to anyone that has had to endure the loss of a loved one from a suicide………Living is grand so embrace every moment of it!