Thursday, October 18, 2012

Want to DIE vs. Reasons to LIVE!

It seems that we can always think of all the "bad things" and rarely can think on anything good and by dwelling on difficult circumstances or the past, our future remains bleak and can lead to thoughts of ending your life.  I can speak from experience on the real, intense, and disturbing feelings that come with suicidal tendencies. I had 2 suicide attempts; one in May of 1993 and the other in September of 1994, where I was 'down' for 7 seconds. In 1994, when I awoke with doctors hovering, I was miserable that I hadn't succeeded. I could not imagine another day in the torment I lived in. I do understand how it is to not want to live another waking moment. Although it was not an overnight success or an instant miracle, I did get through it and now I am so glad that I didn't succeed. It is my hope for all who are struggling, to realize you do have hope and a future on this earth!
 
As far as having anyone I know take their own life, a relativeof mine committed  suicide in January of 2002 and my mother took her life (in haste) on January 5, 2007. To this day I miss my mother and reflect on all that was good; I do not miss the pain she was in.
 
There are Reasons to Live...and I have 7 reasons to live!
  • You may be thinking to yourself, "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't end it all right now?!"
  • In my opinion, here are 7 good reasons not to end your life & 7 good reasons to live:
1). If you killed yourself, your death will hurt many people, emotionally and mentally.
  • Whether your realize it or not, your death will hurt friends, parents, brothers, sisters, husband, wife, teachers, pastor, neighbors, younger kids that look up to you.
2). If you are considering killing yourself because of what someone has done to you, you would be punishing yourself for the actions of another person/people.
  • Whatever harm was put on you by someone else is not worth ending your life over.  You can find strength in knowing that by you getting better and healed in your mind, that in itself is 'payback' to the person who wronged you.
3). If you were to end your life, you would be creating a permanent answer to something that CAN change.
  • Even if your situation has been going on for years, that can change and know that whatever you are going through can be dealt with.
4). Suicide is an extremely devastating occurrence for the people left behind to deal with.
  • There are so many unanswered questions in their minds. Many people who are suicidal feel that they are worthless, that their life would be better without them in it. That is not the case, especially those who love them! The effects the loss has on those loved ones left behind is unexplainable! They are left with guilt, bewilderment, feelings of abandonment, trauma, shock, sadness, hopelessness, and probably more questions than they know what to do with.
5). Should you kill yourself, you will never experience the good things that life has to offer!
  • Although you may not realize it now, there are many good things in life.
6). By overcoming, you can become an inspiration to others, helping others get through what you struggled with.
  • Suicidal thoughts affect many people who cannot break free from the hopelessness.
Now, for those that are God haters or not a fan of God, number 7 isn't going to be popular...but here we go:
 
7). If you succeeded in ending your life, you would miss what God has for you. Regardless if you believe in God or not, God has a plan specifically for you in this life.
  • "You have a hope and a future. I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11
As long as you have breath in your body, you have hope!

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Agree to Disagree

I will talk about anything, cutting, sex, drugs, abuse...I can go on and on, I am sure you get the point. And, it is good to be open, as I never know who may walk through that door. Stay closed, and so will that window of opportunity to talk with someone. Now someone may not like my views and I believe we can agree to disagree without going into a rant.

So, how many times do you hear, "Don't discuss religion or politics?"...why is it that people don't think you can have a calm conversation about God, Jesus, or a religion?? Well that makes me want to talk about it more! All kidding aside, it is interesting that once a conversation is sparked and disagreement arises, it becomes a competition who can talk louder to get their point across. 

I believe what I believe....other people believe what they believe. Others may not agree with me and I may not agree them, however I will respect the person.  If someone views things differently than you do, there is no reason to be argumentative and get into a debate; simply respect each others opinion.

Although people may not agree with each other, we can reasonably agree to disagree!

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Blame = No Change!

When you blame others, you give up your power to change!

It is no secret that up until 15 years ago, I was filled with hate...hate toward specific people for the abuse, pain and hurt they caused me. I blamed those specific individuals for my circumstances. That blame turned into hate and wanting revenge and justice! Although there may have been some truth to that, there came a time when I needed to take responsibility for my actions. Yes, responsibility for the actions THAT I CHOSE...
  • I cut my own body...nobody else did!
  • I burned my forearms...me, not another person!
  • I lied, cheated and stole...not the people that harmed me!
  • I chose to get consumed with various relationships!
  • and the list goes on and on.................
.................Rregardless if it was a result of what I was exposed to or I was running, hiding, dealing, or "pre-disposed" to those conditioned responses..... at some point I had to look at the face of change in order to receive freedom and healing!
If I continued to BLAME the person or persons for where I "ended up" in life, then I would remain in that negative downward spiral. In essence, I would get stuck and stay stuck. Now, who wants to STAY STUCK? You would remain stuck in a world of hate and bitterness, getting worse every day in your attitude and wondering why things aren't going well for you.

This is where people stop reading or walk away from me...so, don't stop reading! :-)
Is it that comfortable in the muck and mire that you would want to live in that stinky mess for the rest of your life? If you are honest with yourself, you would answer "No way".

Who chooses to be like that?
  • Those that feel it is desereved!
  • Those that don't want to change
  • Those that cannot forgive
  • Those that want a reason for why they turned out the way they did
There comes a time when we must move on from the blaming of others in order to gain the power to change our attitudes and ultimately change our lives!
If you remain the same than you are not changing. If there is blame, your focus is on another person, or others! Should you continue tl blame, you will have no change. BUT, you forgive, choose to move on...you will begin to obtain the ability to change and go forward in life instead of staying stuck!

When you blame others, you give up your power to change!