Is suicide painless?

From a parent’s perspective…no, it is not.  I don’t have to tell parents that a parent’s job is tough.  They know it.  But sometimes children don’t understand the torture parents go through raising their children.  From the time a child is born, the focus of the parent is to raise that child to be healthy, happy and safe.  The decisions that a parent has to make are often difficult and although they are made with the child’s safety (current and future) in mind, the decisions may not be “favorable” to the child.  Many times, it would have been easier to give in to the “wants” of a child and ignore his or her “needs”.  This is where we often hear the phrase “tough love”.  It may be tough for the child, but it is also tough on the parent. 

The child becomes the life of the parent.  The child is the parent’s future, personified. Now imagine after the investment of time, the outpouring of love, the sacrifice of all else for the welfare of this child, that the child commits suicide.  What becomes of the life of the parents?  Are they still parents?  What future is there?  Is there a purpose them going on?  I have heard that the loss of child creates a hole in the parents’ hearts.  That is partly correct.  In reality, the WHOLE heart is gone, and life will NEVER be the same.

Is suicide painless?  No, it is not.  Look into the eyes of a parent whose child has committed suicide and you will see the pain.      

Suicide doesn't take away the pain.... it multiplies it. It multiplies it times TEN and gives it to everyone that loves you, likes you and cares about you.... and you're not that selfish. Look here, I'll show you what I mean. You can't steal $10 from your grandmother, how can you kill her grandchild? You can't steal a hairbrush from your best friend, how can you murder her best friend? You can barely take a toy away from your child for an hour.... how can you steal their last line of defense, their parent, life as they know it? You can't. You aren't that selfish. You'll never be that selfish. Promise now that you won't ever forget. Not now. Not ever. Don't wait....

Everybody Hurts

(background music to this page)

Berry/Buck/Mills/Stipe

When the day is long and the night, the night is yours alone,
when you're sure you've had enough of this life, well hang on.
Don't let yourself go, everybody cries and everybody hurts sometimes.

Sometimes everything is wrong. Now it's time to sing along.
When your day is night alone, (hold on, hold on)
if you feel like letting go, (hold on)
when you think you've had too much of this life, well hang on.

Everybody hurts. Take comfort in your friends.
Everybody hurts. Don't throw your hand. Oh, no. Don't throw your hand.
If you feel like you're alone, no, no, no, you are not alone

If you're on your own in this life, the days and nights are long,
when you think you've had too much of this life to hang on.

Well, everybody hurts sometimes,
everybody cries. And everybody hurts sometimes.
And everybody hurts sometimes. So, hold on, hold on.
Hold on, hold on. Hold on, hold on. Hold on, hold on.
(Everybody hurts. You are not alone.)

© 1992 REM

The Best of REM - In Time (1988-2003)