RE: Suicide threat--open letter

[kit.brown <kit -dot- brown -at- comgenesis -dot- com>]

First, thanks Bonnie, for bringing this to our attention. I'm sad to hear that someone in our virtual community is in such dire straits. I am more of a lurker than a poster on this list, but I feel that I MUST respond to this person's cry for help.
 
Please, please, please DON'T do it. Get thyself to a crisis hotline or a doctor who can help you.
 
It is a permanent solution to a temporary problem, and you will leave behind many, many people who will be devastated by your absence. 
 
You are NOT as alone as you feel right now; more people than you know love you and care about you. They just might not know how desperate your situation is--please tell them, and let them help you.
 
You may be asking why I'm bothering when I don't know you. I am bothering because I know several people who have either taken their own lives or who have been devastated by the loss. 
 
We have all had long dark nights of the soul....If you can't stay alive for yourself, do it for the the people you love. 
 
Losing someone to suicide is the most devastating way to lose someone. Those left behind must deal with the guilt of thinking there was more they could've/should've done, the emotional bomb that destroys the family--especially the children involved. Sometimes, those families never recover. In an email, it's difficult to express the magnitude of the devastation that is caused by someone committing suicide.
 
Suicide is the ultimate selfish act. You were put here on this planet to make a difference in the world. Your very presence here does that---you don't have to be perfect, or beautiful, or smart, or socially adept. You don't have to do anything---just your presence has changed the world. You have no idea how many people you have saved or benefited just by being in their lives. If you didn't exist, many many people would have emptier lives and have no idea what was missing. 
 
Even if you don't celebrate Christmas, go rent "It's a Wonderful Life"--it's a movie about a guy at the end of his rope who learns just how important he is to the world. 
 
There are very few things worth dying for. You really can live through embarrassment, humiliation, devastating financial circumstances, a broken heart. And, when you do, you are that much stronger for it. 
 
To reiterate Barry's suggestion, go to www.befrienders.org to find resources in your area.
 
Peace, love, and health. 
 
PS To those people on this list who get their knickers in a knot about some queries--ratchet it down. Your caustic responses don't add anything to the discussion. If you can't be constructive, keep your mouth shut...
 
Regards,
Kit Brown
Principal
Comgenesis, LLC
PO Box 140092
Boise, ID  83714
+1 208.343.8706
kit -dot- brown -at- comgenesis -dot- com
 
"Practice random acts of kindness and senseless beauty"



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