Today is “National Semicolon Day.” It would be weird for me not to make at least some sort of thoughts about this day.
After my sibling died by suicide and I was facing my own challenges with my brain-based health, I learned about the importance of the semi-colon when it comes to this subject.
Those of us who have had suicidal ideations know all too well how it can feel like the pain is never going to end. We desperately feel like we are hanging off the side of a mountain, with only our fingertips grasping the ledge and keeping us from tumbling off into the great abyss. Our brain sends us the message that we would be better off dead or that those around us would benefit from us being gone because we believe, at the time, that we are a burden to those around us.
BUT then the great SEMICOLON comes along and can give us a fresh perspective. The messages that our brain is telling us at that time are LIES…each and every one of them. True, the pain that we feel is very overwhelming. It distorts the way we are processing our emotions and thoughts. It leads us to believe that we can’t make it another day, another hour, another minute, or another second.
I once heard a great quote…”Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.” You may ask though the relevant question “When you have suicidal ideations, do you think what your feeling is purely temporary?” Honestly? The answer is no.
However, the semicolon, as small and fragile as it is in writing, offers me HOPE. It helps me to understand and to reframe my thoughts that what I am feeling and thinking is not the END of my story but just a PAUSE. It leads me to take a breath and to practice being mindful.
True that this usually comes, for me, after spending much time crying and being frustrated. However, I’m usually reminded by God, who gave us the “Semicolon” that my story isn’t over yet. And the great thing is that your story isn’t over yet either.
So, let’s celebrate that little beauty of punctuation because, even though it is hard (boy, is it REALLY hard sometimes), that it’s okay to lean into those breathing spaces of life. I hope you find that your story has value; better yet, I hope that you find the value in YOU. Believe it or not, the world needs you. We need you. I need you. Don’t be embarrassed to use my old friend…the semicolon.
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