Sticking Together

You can’t stop the future
You can’t rewind the past
The only way to learn the secret
…is to press play. You can’t go back to how things were. How you thought they were. All you really have is…now.
Many of us face problems and are not willing to share with anyone. We tend to hide them because hiding makes it easier. Drifting away from everyone in their own cloud of thoughts unaware about the world, creating an imaginary world of their own seems to suit the ones facing anxiety and pain. People with these problems weren’t born with them neither they invite them intentionally but were handed over by us in some way. We like messing with people’s emotion even if we don’t realise how much we have messed with their souls. We don’t know what goes on in anyone’s life but our own. And when we mess with one part of a person’s life, we are not messing with just that part. Unfortunately, we can’t be that precise and selective. When we mess with one part of a person’s life, we’re messing with their entire life. Everything. . . affects everything. Perhaps it is even possible that you never caused trouble to a person and maybe you have always steered clear from that person but somehow you’re still making a mistake. Maybe you should have driven in their path but not against them but parallel to them in order to make sure they are doing okay. Although you have stopped talking to that person, you still need to make an effort to stay close to that person just to make sure that they are not going through a hard time all alone. And who knows by sticking close to them you are not only helping them but also comforting yourself.

There are many people around you, with some we might be friends, are not able to get away from themselves. There are people who decide to disconnect from themselves, from the world and try to turn off the noises inside their head. We, the so called friends, call them cowards who weren’t brave enough to stand against the sufferings but we are so wrong. We are never able to feel the emotions of a self depressed person until we become self depressed. We cannot feel the pain as much as they do. So before telling someone that you are there for them make sure that you are really there with them and not just as a text message but as a listener. A flood of emotions rushes into them. Pain and anger. Sadness and pity. But most surprising of all, hope. Be the one to ignite the flame of hope in them during the time of adversity.

There may come a day when you sit and listen to someone giving up. Someone you knew someday. Someone you were acquainted with or someone you liked. You are listening to the story of the person who gave up on life but still you are too late.

I hope one day you will make enough time out of your schedule and listen to the story of the person when they are facing it and not reading it through their goodbye letter. I hope you reach out to people you know and just ask them how they are even if it seems no big deal to you. Their world might be collapsing and maybe through a small gesture you can give them hope. A hope that someone cares for them and some is there with them. We need human connection as much as we need air to breathe. Some people don’t realise the importance of human connection and communication until they can’t have it. So if you are reading this, call them and talk to them. Make them feel safe. Steal away their anxieties and make all their feelings disappear except for love. Don’t let them give up.

F. S.