Yesterday a person who posted in the Comments Section here without a name indicated that he was close to suicide. I need to respond to that post, and I invite you to do the same. Here is the comment as originally entered…
No Name
November 12, 2008 8:31 AM
I am as close to suicide as I have ever been. It terrifies me. Im 32, i have my health, I have 2 beautiful young children whom I adore, a wife who has wisdom and kindness that blows me away. I have read your books several times, they changed my outlook, I love your books and I believe the message. But believing is not the same as experiencing. I am unable to experience it…..
Reading so much of what you wrote was more like being reminded of things I already new instinctively, it wasn’t like I was learning new stuff.
But here I am, now, in the moment. And I just want it to end. I loathe this world, I feel like I was supposed to be something, to do something to make it better, but that I’ll never know what it is.
Words fail me, confusion imprisons me here, I wish I could type more through the buzzing behind my eyes. Its the tears that wont come and they sting like hell.
My dear friend…I want to invite you to read Home with God in a Life That Never Ends. In it you will find a remarkable commentary on ending one’s life, on what is accomplished by doing that, and on what occurs as a result of such a decision.
As I read your post the first thing that struck me is your age. I am 65, my friend, and I can tell you that you have many more years to go in which to “do something” to make life better for yourself and for everyone whose life you touch. My present work in the world did not begin until I was 53 years old. All the rest was preparation. Do not mistake “preparation” for failure. Something immensely important is gained during the years we are preparing to make our major contribution. Do not confuse gain with loss. There is nothing lost in learning, and all the experience of all the years will serve you dramatically one day.
There are several important questions to look at during this time in your life — and you could do well to spend years exploring them. The Four Profound Questions of Life are:
1. Who am I?
2. Where am I?
3. Why am I where I am?
4. What am I doing here?
Take a year each for every question. Look into these inquiries deeply. You are a young man. You have already, by your own accounting, been gifted with so much. Now gift yourself with the treasure of Time. Have patience with yourself. Allow life to bring you the right and perfect opportunities to express and experience your highest self.
I want to encourage you to read an extraordinary book by Byron Katie titled Loving What Is. And then to go to Byron Katie’s website and learn all you can about The Work. What is “The Work”? Check it out. It is too much to go into here.
Thanksgiving is nearly upon us. The winter holy days are coming. Get in touch with gratitude, and with God, during these days. Read Happier Than God. It gives you some very practical tools in achieving inner peace. Then order an advance copy of When Everything Changes, Change Everything: In a Time of Turmoil, a Doorway to Peace. This is my latest book, and it will be published in April. Advance orders may be placed at Hampton Roads Publishing Company. Look them up on the Internet.
Write me again when you’ve finished with Happier Than God. I want to know what you think of it and whether it provided you with any tools you found useful.
And more on all this in my next entry here…