The only requirement for life makes the most sense in light of the idea of suicide.
Life’s only requirement is to live. You have been given life, life has been given to you, so who are you to take it? You had no say in when you’d be born, or that you would be born in this first place, so what gives you the right to decide when you die? Taking your life is not just taking your life but also taking complete or partial life from others.
If you have ever contemplated suicide or struggled with high levels of depression, then you might be thinking: “Yeah, it is easy for this guy to say blah, blah, blah against suicide, but he does not understand the actual struggle.” Wrong. I know what it is like. I received a severe traumatic brain injury three years ago, and I understand the gravitas of depression: how it pulls you down, rips you apart, and shadows every part of your life. But when I heard my wife say the following, I truly understood life’s only requirement.
On one really depressed day of mine where suicide seemed like the only logical option, my wife said this to me:
“If you kill yourself, rest assured I will do the same.”
I knew she was serious. What I learned is this: suicide always steals life from more than one party. I saw this point viscerally. If I take my life, I cause my wife to take her life. In that instance, then, I make myself a kind of murderer. But someone else does not have to actually die for you to be a suicidal-murderer.
Suicide steals emotional, mental, and social life from others. If you commit suicide, every memory of you is now tainted by your own blood. This has seismic effects on your immediate family and friends, but you never know your entire audience. That kid you went to middle school with, who follows you on social media, and holds a bit of hope because of you is now thinking of grabbing rope, too. Suicide has the grim reaper, ripple effect.
There is no greater gift in life than life itself. If you contemplate taking your own life, please understand that it is not just your life you are taking––but life from many, many others.
If you do not struggle with suicidal thoughts, the message is one of gratitude. Be thankful for the life you have. Be thankful that you do not want your life to go away. And next time you worry about all of your requirements and obligations (especially this Holiday Season), remind yourself of your most important requirement in this life––to live.
Leave a Reply