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ISSN: 1539-431X July 26, 2005 Suicide Revisited
 What
is RSS?
John Cali Chief Joseph and I have talked about death in many newsletters over the years. We did an article on suicide in a 2004 newsletter. And we’ve talked about death in a more recent newsletter. Some of our readers have written us recently on the subject of suicide specifically, and death in general. Something that seems to be more on people’s minds today than ever. Understandably so. So we’ve decided to revisit suicide. The other day, "coincidentally," I was listening to National Public Radio. It seems there’s been a growing movement in the USA to put more barriers on high bridges. The idea is to prevent people from using the bridges to commit suicide. The show hosts interviewed several people, some for and some against spending our tax dollars on more bridge barriers. At the end of the program, one of the interviewees said the barriers would do no good. If people are hell-bent on killing themselves, and can’t do it from a bridge, they’ll find another way to do themselves in. How true. Our society is so obsessed with death as a "bad" thing. As Joseph has said, we even have the "death" penalty for criminals. And yet some troubled and tortured souls see death as their only way out. They simply cannot continue their physical existence, not at any cost. No one -- the government, family, friends, etc. -- can prevent them from leaving when they want and by whatever means they want. We all die when and how we choose. No exceptions. We have a right to live. But we also have a right to die. Chief Joseph You all do, indeed, have a right to die. Your society is so intensely focused on life that it forgets death is part of life. It’s a continuum, an eternal, never-ending continuum. As one of your popular folk songs says, "the circle remains unbroken." No part of that circle is either good or bad. It just is. And that is as it should be. You can never judge another human being. Although you often make valiant attempts to do just that. All you can ever do is observe where they are. But remember you are observing only from your perspective. And your perspective is not necessarily their perspective. In fact, it almost never is. So it would behoove you, as a first step in letting others choose their own realities, to let go of any need to control, manipulate, or command others so they do what you want instead of what they want. None of you -- whether "you" be an individual, a government, a church, a school, and so on -- have any divine right to dictate to others how they shall live. Or die. You see, friends, you live in a universe based on freedom. You all have the freedom to choose your own paths. Freedom is the very foundation of your human existence. Where so many of you get into trouble is when you believe you are free to do as you choose, but others are not. That belief always -- no exceptions -- gets you into even deeper trouble. You have only to look at your mainstream news media’s headlines today to see that. So where does all that leave us? It clearly presents you -- at least those of you willing to seriously consider what we’re saying here today -- with a grand opportunity to be totally free. How can you achieve total freedom in this lifetime? By allowing -- we’re not talking here about simply tolerating -- but allowing all others to freely choose their paths, whether in "life" or in "death." In that allowing, you will find, as an individual or a nation, freedom you never imagined ever existed. You will find a deep joy in simply knowing every human being has within her or him the wisdom to know what is appropriate in the present moment. Not appropriate necessarily for others, but definitely appropriate for that individual. Life or death -- it makes no difference which you choose or how you choose to go about it. It’s all good. And you cannot ever get it wrong. When you have truly integrated that concept into your thinking, your life, and your being, you will be totally free. Free at last!
This article was originally published here.
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John can be reached by email here
or through their website Copyright © 2005 by John Cali. All rights reserved. *************************************************************************
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