A Teenager's Thoughts On Death
What if you’ve gone through all of life just to not find peace?
You Might Not Know When Someone in Your Life is Suffering
By Leone di Properzio, age 15
Special to Vibrant Life
Humans are mortal creatures. We can be so divided on so many issues but we all have one thing in common: one hundred percent of us will die one day.
One of the most common fears in the world is the fear of death.
Every decision we make is in some way or another influenced by our perspective on life and death.
However for some, the actual death is not what scares them. What scares them is what happens after.
What if you’ve gone through all of life and all of the process of dying just to not find peace after?
What if you die and find that your beliefs about the afterlife are completely wrong?
What if everything you think is actually a lie?
Maybe there’s nothing after life.
Maybe there’s heaven.
Maybe there’s hell.
Maybe there’s reincarnation.
The truth is that nobody actually has any solid idea.
Over 720,000 humans die by suicide every single year.
It’s the third leading cause of death for people aged 15-29 years old.
People decide everyday that living is so horrible they would rather blindly face the massive question mark that death is than continue fighting to survive.
It’s important to ask yourself the question: Am I living or am I surviving?
If it’s the latter of the two, what changes can you make?
Sometimes you have to burn your whole life down in order to build it back up in a way that actually feels good to you.
You never know the silent battles that someone else is facing.
In the 2009 movie, World’s Greatest Dad, Robin Williams’s character Lance said, “If you’re that depressed, reach out to someone. Remember, suicide is a permanent solution to temporary problems.”
Five years later, on Monday, August 11, 2014, Williams was found dead—he hanged himself with a belt.
He was 63 years old.
You truly can never understand what someone is doing through, no matter their age.
No one of us is too old or too young to be depressed.
Isolation is enemy of humanity.
Feeling like you’re alone, feeling like no one cares if you’re dead or alive, can be what pushes you over the edge.
Reach out out your friends, reach out to your family, reach out to everyone you love because you have no idea who in your life is drowning and throwing them one buoy, one word, could save their life.
Knowing that the people around you, or even just one person, would be crushed if you were gone, would be hurt and broken if you were gone, can save you.
Never say there was nothing you could have done.
There’s always something you can do, someone you can help.
Protect the people around you.
Love is all you have.
Beautifully written Jennifer. It is so important for us not to isolate, especially in this day and age. This reminds me of a post I saw from a geriatric physician. During the lockdowns he started getting older patients coming and shockingly for some the diagnosis was starvation. They may have not been able to go out, or no one was looking in on them. Sometimes older folks don't have much hunger to cause them to eat. We may not know exactly what happens when we die, but we can live our life each day as richly and lovingly as possible.
Leone, You are asking all the right questions. They have been asked by most of the great philosophers, spiritual seekers, religious leaders, and writers through the centuries. So you are in good company. You might enjoy reading Stephen Levine's book "Who Dies?" Most people want definitive answers to their questions. To live with uncertainty takes a certain amount of courage and humility. We may never be able to know what happens after the death of the body. But we do know that if we focus on practicing love, gratitude, compassion and helping others, our lives will take on new meaning and joy. Read also James Baraz' "Awakening Joy." I have a copy to loan you and to discuss with you if you want. Shoshanah in Ashland.