Defying Life

‘So he was deserted. The whole world was clamouring: Kill yourself, kill yourself, for our sakes. But why should he kill himself for their sakes? Food was pleasant; the sun hot; and this killing oneself, how does one set about it, with a table knife, uglily, with floods of blood, — by sucking a gaspipe? He was too weak; he could scarcely raise his hand. Besides, now that he was quite alone, condemned, deserted, as those who are about to die are alone, there was a luxury in it, an isolation full of sublimity; a freedom which the attached can never know.’

Mrs Dalloway, Virginia Woolf

Pride does not always come before a fall. Utter despair and a sense of loneliness are often stood between rationale and panic. If you cannot see tomorrow, ask someone to help you find today. Do not allow death to help when others cannot. There are dark clouds but light is never far behind.

We are unable to control our birth but we can dictate our own death; for some this is their last victory in a world where options have been spent. Never be so busy that you misread the drowning for waving. Help the volatile by keeping them afloat long enough for them to see they are not alone or forgotten. Death has its place at the back of the queue and you’re not done yet.