literature

Your Life Matters

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Literature Text

There is something I'd like to share with you all.

Your life matters, it means something.

Speaking from personal experience, I understand the urge to want to give up on the world.  It's hard not to when we see misery, corruption and pointless cruelty on a daily basis, especially when you have to deal with your own mental health issues.  The stresses of real life, whether they're personal, internal problems or external situations you seemingly have no control over, it can be frustrating and overwhelming.

That's the bad news.

The good news is that you can do something about it, because your life matters.  You can find something to give it meaning.  There are so many great things in the world to discover and enjoy, even if they're often hidden behind a constant swarm of nihilism and hatred.  Admittedly, whatever positive things you choose to focus on are down to personal preference, but I think I can make some general recommendations.

Firstly, and most importantly (at least to me) is comedy.  I find that the ability to laugh at the absurdities of the world makes life much easier.  I can't emphasize enough that that is down to personal taste, but figures like Lewis Black, Charlie Brooker and John Oliver take the awful situations (and certain individuals) that we see in the news/media and find ways to look at them in a new light, highlighting how ridiculous they really are.  They laugh in the face of danger, they tweak the nose of terror – if you recognize that quote, then already you're on the right path.  If not, look it up.  There are plenty of sitcoms, comedians, films and web series out there, some of them I guarantee will make you grin and giggle uncontrollably.  As for the “bad” ones...  Well, at the very least they'll make you appreciate the ones you enjoy even more.

This brings me to the broader topics of both art and entertainment.  We all have at least one film or TV show that we quote constantly and could watch a hundred times without getting bored.  Many of us have video games that we know on an encyclopedic level, songs that we can sing (or hum) just by thinking about them, books with lines we'll never forget.  That's always a good start.  Remind yourself that these works exist and why you enjoy them.  One step after this is finding something new, at first something similar to ease you into discovering new forms or art and entertainment.  For example, I'm a fan of Mario games, which led me to discover and enjoy other  games like Sonic, Crash Bandicoot, Ray-Man, Banjo-Kazooie, Shantae...  You get the idea.

There is one step even further than this, one that is rather daunting.  You love these works of art, these stories and characters and the creators who made them.  Why not follow in their footsteps?  If you enjoy superheroes, you could write your own stories, learn to draw them or perhaps analyse them and write critiques of the films or books.  Enjoy a musician or band? Write lyrics, pick up an instrument, create a play-list, whatever.  Yes, this will be difficult no matter which path you follow.  It can take months, maybe years of practice.  You'll get annoyed at yourself for your apparent lack of skills, but you'll get better at your craft.  You'll feel disappointed if your work is ignored or criticized, but someone out there will appreciate it if you show it to them.  Keep reminding yourself that your favourite creators had to go through this as well to get where they are.

Although I'm focusing on creative and artistic endeavours, you can apply this to anything – athletics, cookery, DIY, academia, the list goes on.  If you need a break from them, try something new, something similar or perhaps something completely new.  Whatever it is you choose to do, you've already given your life meaning, this is why your life matters.  If you enjoy what you do, you've already succeeded.  If other people appreciate your work, you've made their lives better too.

Before I continue, this must be addressed.  There will be certain people out there who will criticize you or your work.  Some of them really are offering friendly support, but there will be a few who aren't helpful in any meaningful way.  They will go out of their way to mock your efforts, to highlight and exaggerate minute flaws without offering suggestions on how to fix them, to drag you into pointless arguments, to try and convince the world how worthless you are, that you should just give up.  Thankfully the English language provides us with a wide variety of words to describe people like this.  The best thing you can do is to continue to do what you enjoy.  You never needed their permission or approval, and if more people actually do enjoy your work, you've proven that the haters are wrong.

(As a side note: If you ARE one of these people who go out of their way to harass and threaten others, to cynically mock other people's hard work without providing any yourself, or at least making a coherent point, have you ever considered finding something better to do with with your time, like literally anything else?)

So yes, your life does matter.  It really matters.  You have friends and family who can tell you and show you how much you matter to them.  You can find support groups.  You can discover works of art, fiction and entertainment that can help you appreciate life.  You can make friends with other people who enjoy these works as well.  You can create some of it yourself.  You can, no, you MUST contact a professional if it all becomes too much to bear, or someone you know you can trust.  One day you could even help someone else understand how much they matter.  You didn't choose to inherit the problems of the world, you didn't choose to have mental health issues.  However, you can choose to find ways to deal with them without giving up. Your life has meaning.  Your life has value.  Your life has opportunities.  You've got to find the good times that make the bad times worth fighting through.
Written for World Suicide Prevention Day.  If you need to talk to a professional, please visit www.samaritans.org/
© 2015 - 2024 SuperAshBro
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