As long we are journeying in this vale of tears, we will continually experience unfortunate occurrences. That’s life. As frank Sinatra sings it:” You’re ridin’ high in April, shot down in May”, but is this a reason to end it? The reality is as long as we are living in this life, there will be hours, days, months, and even years of difficult moment. There will be the inevitable day when all the confidence and faith in life, ourselves, God seem to vanish; there will be moments where we feel like we are carrying the whole world on our shoulders where there is no one to help us and the sky looks tempered without a drop of rain. There will be time when our past mistakes just lash out on us, and our conscience and regrets seem to take us hostage. We feel like we just don’t measure up; we feel like total failures, lonely, and alone. There can be times when you enter into that deep silence inside and ipso facto feel guilty— guilty of trying but unsuccessfully, guilty of giving your best, but to no avail. Then you might start questioning everything, the future, meaning and purpose, life, love, kindness, and existence itself. Know that it’s just a day of doubt. It will not last forever. 

The unnatural death of a member of the community is a concern for everyone. That kind of attitude is a reminder that we are one family who deeply want the well being of each other. The suicidal death of Robin Williams lately has struck us all. He touched so many lives unspeakably through his talents, humor, and passion. His death broke his families and friends’ lives beyond imagining. They must have so many unanswered questions. His fans are heartbroken. He played in so many unforgettable, legendary, and inspiring movies that shaped our thoughts and attitudes.

Rightly have the media paid great tribute to his legacy and talents. Justly did they give him a lot of airtime. But I cannot help but notice how cavalier the media spoke about his death. They speak about it as if he were ill and died of natural cause. Not once did they focus on the wrongness of his action, or how someone should never commit suicide. The media’s role is to inform and form—inform about what happens and form our intellect about the right course of action. Suicide causes more death than car accidents in the world. So it is a pretty serious issue. Just like the death of Williams saddened us all, many suicidal deaths would affect us all. So it is our duty to prevent it from happening. Not once did I hear the commentators on TV mentioned how wrong it is to commit suicide. It must be known that suicide is always wrong regardless of the circumstances and must never be presented as an option. Therefore, it must be denounced as such when committed.

Every society before ours has emphasized the immorality and wrongness of suicide. Every society before ours made sure that people don’t think of suicide as normal. All thinkers who think for the sake of the common good understand it is unreasonable to take one’s life. Anyone who acknowledges the existence of a higher power or the power of a person to change the undesired fate knows suicide must not be talked about as if it’s normal or natural. Why does our current society want to think otherwise?

Even Albert Camus who saw the world as absurd and life meaningless rejects the idea of suicide. He argues that suicide is the rejection of freedom. Suicide is cowardice and laziness; it is fleeing from facing the challenges of life. Instead of fleeing the absurd meaninglessness of life, we should embrace life passionately and fight to change the course of life.

Those in favor of suicide see it as a question of individual right. It’s a road that can be taken when all the other alternatives have been tried. They believe that no being should be made to suffer unnecessarily, and suicide provides an escape from suffering. In this view, Schopenhauer compared ending one’s life, when subject to great suffering, to waking up from sleep when experiencing a terrible nightmare.

Those in favor of suicide completely misunderstood what it means to be free, or to exercise one’s individual right. Being free or exercising one’s right must not break the natural law. Just as we are truly free when we are driving according to the law of driving, this life is ours as long as it lingers on. Freedom is not free. It must be in accordance with the rule of life that maintains that every life is precious. We did not give life to ourselves, so we have no right to end it. We must protect, safeguard, and value it; it is not ours to take away. you are a dignified being who deserves to let people to care for you. Live up to your dignity.

If you’re going through tough times and pondering suicidal thoughts, don’t give up; don’t get discouraged. Know that those days are just moments of doubts. Better times lie ahead. It is not the end. There is help out there. Call people. Pray; God never abandons us. Look for help; look to people who care about you. They want your happiness. You make them happy. Don’t break their hearts by taking the suicidal road.

Suffering can be unbearable, but it is not meaningless. Your suffering has a purpose. It is your duty to understand the why of it. Ending it destroys any possibility of finding meaning.  Know that suffering does not have the last word. Suffering, even deep depression, can be advantageous.

Maybe it’s life’s way to force us to find its meaning for it is inevitable that someone goes through life without finding its meaning. Perhaps, it is life’s manner of awakening us for the decisive hour, as Nietzsche said. Perhaps it is life’s way of allowing us to discover what we would never otherwise discover. The truth is these horrible, atrocious, unspeakable, indescribable sufferings cannot be pure nonsense and meaningless. They happen for a reason and that reason must be for our benefits. So we must not give in. Those who endure to the end will be rewarded beyond their wildest expectations. So it’s worth the fight!