“Never underestimate the ability of a small group of citizens to change the world – indeed it’s the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead. Add music and art here too – as reflected in this song. Check out this refreshing interview with the 15 year old Birdy. It’s available on iTunes and through Amazon.com but unfortunately the real thing is not out in Oz or US until next year (Marchish?). Pass this on …
(From movie on DVD called ‘Griff The Invisible’ – very, very quirky Aussie flick.)
“On average we lose 1 young Western Australian to suicide each week.” (WA State Coroner). ”More people die as a result of suicide each year in Australia than there are fatalities on our roads.” (Australian Bureau of Statistics). You can support The Black Dog Project and those who may be struggling by simply passing on this ‘Dear Me’ note, and the related articles that follow, through your email and Face Book contacts. If you need to talk, Lifeline offers a 24/7 phone service 13 11 14. Or see Black Dog’s links webpage.
‘Dear Me’ …..
There is a book out that poses the question…if you could write a letter to your 16 year old self, what would you say? Considering, at 15, I tried to take my own life, this is what I’d say….
….. You’ll still be here. You’ll survive way beyond things you believed you couldn’t. And there will be many more times when you can’t bear the thought of living another day. Another moment. But know that it is but a moment. A moment in which you have only this desperate thought. But moments come – and they go. Tomorrow may not feel a whole lot better but it can be a starting point – not the end. You’ll need to take some seemingly impossible steps. Every day. Day in and day out to get to wherever it is you’ll eventually find a sense of place. A sense of purpose and meaning. And you don’t necessarily have to know exactly where or when that will be. You just need to maintain the drive and determination to find it. Keep putting one foot in front of the other ……and thoughts of not making it behind.
And you’ll have some massive spills along the way that will lay you flat for varying lengths of time – but you’ll get up. Eventually. Every time. You’ll get up. You must. And you’ll go another round so you can at the very least, prove to yourself you can. Your weakest point will be to rely on someone else to do this work for you…
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Received some pics from those who draw strength from Black Dog. This one’s from Caroline who has framed some of the Army of Ink from the ’21 Postcard’ series and keeps them on her bedside table. She also happens to be a collector of old typewriters too (this is one of her 3).
Elle sent this one in and calls it her ‘strength wall’ made from art and stories from Black Dog. She is also making a mobile out of the ’21 Friends’ postcards too. Thanks for the ideas Elle. Check out her tattoo in a previous post here.
Another use for the Black Dog website is to leave an image up on the computer – or use it as a screen saver. This one is the Patti Smith Clunk & Jam note. Just found it soothing to have close at bedtime.
This one’s a Clunk & Jam note collection on a wall at the Narrogin Mental Health Expo. You can use these notes to create the same on bedroom and office walls too. I use masking tape but you can use blue tac etc. If you’ve got any pictures of what you do with Black Dog art and stories/books and cards, send them in so we can share your ideas with others.
Just lost my best mate – and shadow. Each day I’m realising how much a part of each day she was. She was my view …
…sat patiently as I made paper things.
But the poor old girl was going blind – her back legs and mind were failing her. A friend’s question helped us make the painful decision to end her suffering; “Make sure every day is a good day for her”. It wasn’t. And it was our own pain of losing her that became the reason we wanted more days with her. But she was suffering terribly. What we’ll hold close in memory is the 14 years of good days we spent with her. But right now, the sadness is here. And I’m thinking…sometimes sadness pals up with anger. Sometimes with fear or despair. And sometimes it’s just straight up sadness. Sheer loss, and you just have to let the tears pour - and not lose grip on the good times you had. Wrote this Haiku poem about her a while back here. And Catapillar Talk I hold close as a soothing reminder about life’s natural cycle. RIP pooch. Long live the dog.
“When I was 5 years old, my Mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down, ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life. ” John Lennon (See this previous post about unhappiness).
Lennon’s inspiring story can be seen in a documentary (DVD) called ‘LennonYC’ and there’s another called, ‘Death of a Beatle’. (Thanks Jo from wheatbelt WA for passing through Lennon’s quote). Pass it on …
Click on typewriter and stick Lennon up somewhere.
