What Makes Life Worth Living?



Posted: Wednesday, October 14, 2009

by
Creative Catalyst

What makes life worth living may seem a flip title but I mean this in all seriousness as I came across a truly startling statistic this week. According to the World Health Organisation, around 1 million people die of suicide every year, the tenth largest cause of death globally. Awful enough, but what startled me was that more die by suicide than by any other type of violence, including armed conflict.

Every day on average there are 3,000 people who cannot find a sufficient reason for going on with their lives. That figure just refers to the 'successful' suicides because for every person who dies there are at least 20 or more who make the attempt. No culture is exempt though it seems that indigenous communities, particularly in developed countries, are disproportionately affected by suicides. The highest risk group is men over age 85, most frequently widowers, because they often have no social support.

What makes people take that final step? It is hard to hold on to life when you can see no future, or not one that seems to offer hope and comfort. Our belief in ourselves and our ability to make our future what we want it to be gets impaired. Low self esteem, poor sense of our value to ourselves and to others all come into play of course but for me it seems the overwhelming thing that strikes me is a lack of belief in the future.

We are living in challenging times, when perhaps you would think the suicide rate would rise but in fact people commit suicide less during major crises like economic meltdown and war. Why? Is it because the circumstances force an external reason for living that seems to overwhelm our own private concerns?

Certainly one factor that has been shown to increase the numbers is sensational media reports on suicide. Apparently, there is a tendency for increased suicides within the following weeks by people who identify with the victim who got publicized for the act.

What are they identifying with? A life that is similar to their own, or seeing a way out that perhaps they had not considered? I am asking a lot of questions here and of course we all have our own personal answers.

One of the things I learned when I studied with Eric Maisel to be a creativity coach was that life has to have meaning. No dissent there, but what I found harder to reconcile was his view that the meaning in your life is the meaning you give it. You are the one who takes that decision, not external factors or the views of your friends or family though too often we rely on what others tell us about ourselves rather than taking the more difficult route of looking into the mirror and seeing the person who is really there. Not the image we present, but the reality at a soul level of what we stand for, what we hope for and what we want to create in our life.

It's about asking ourselves the difficult questions:

What do I contribute to my life and to others? When am I willing to live all of me to the full? Who am I in the deepest moments of my soul?

It reminds me of that phrase which I believe is from the Gnostic Gospels (and please tell me if you know the exact source) that so resonated with me when first read it that I could only see it through a veil of my own disappointed tears:

"If you bring out that which is in you, that which is in you will save you. If you do not bring out that which is in you, that which is in you will destroy you."

I feel that suicide is the ultimate way of deciding not to bring out the glory and talent that lies within all of us. What do you think?

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AnnA is an inspirational author and speaker on health, personal development and creativity. Free email Creative Catalyst newsletters for creative and personal development tips and resources visit http://www.catalystonline.co.uk

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