....... A PERMANENT SOLUTION TO A TEMPORARY PROBLEM
August 13, 2014 8:45 amThere was a time in my life when I used this blog to write about different topics from news stories: however, I stopped doing that a few years ago but I thought this morning I would write at least this one blog about something which recently happened.
I think it was Phil Donahue who said, or at least has been credited with coining the phrase: "Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem." Whether a person likes that phrase or hates it... it is accurate!
Yesterday while at work I found myself in the unenviable position of trying to defend what the comedian Williams did... not because I think it was right, but I tried to at least make some people understand the "why" behind his actions. In reality I actually agree with Shepard Smith's remark about suicide being a "cowardly" act, and I also believe it is a selfish act.
Years ago I had an occasion to recall something I had read before about the basketball player Larry Bird. He was speaking about how his father killing himself had changed him... and it dawned on me that suicide is both a cowardly and selfish act! It is because the person is only thinking about their own pain and they aren't considering that there might be others who still care for them and how their bad act could hurt those innocent people as well. So I guess I believe that a man is supposed to be able to endure pain and ought to consider others before himself, so if that's true then in a sense he just has to "suck it up" and keep going forward :(
I have found in my own life the best way to stay grounded and not harbor weak thoughts is to always look short term and not dwell on any long term future. Because if a person does that then there is a tendency to recall something Stephen King wrote: SSDD. (same s*** different day)
In the "Odes" Horace wrote the Latin phrase carpe diem (seize the day). He penned; "Scale back your long hopes to a short period. While we speak, time is envious and is running away from us. Seize the day, trusting little in the future." (This helps me, because if the future seems bleak with no chance of some dreams ever being brought to fruition then it doesn't really matter... because all I have is this one day anyway so surely anyone can get through one more day!)
Virgil wrote: "collige, virgo, rosas" which is translated, "gather, girl, the roses." In other words, she was to enjoy her youth and life because both pass so very quickly. (Once again the same thought... enjoy just today because tomorrow might never materialize.)
My favorite phrase which also is stating the same thing that Horace and Virgil were saying is Isaiah... who said, "Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die..." This one I understand best... so I do those things that are at least somewhat pleasing for today, and tomorrow? Well, I guess that 'tomorrow' will just have to take care of itself.
It's funny but as I type this I'm remembering a song from my misspent teenaged years. Maybe I'm now thinking Stephen Stills was a sage when he wrote, Love the One You're with. He sings, "If you can't be with the one you love, Honey, love the one you're with." Yep, carpe diem... seize the damn day!
posted by Robin Johnson @ 8:46 AM
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