This holiday season has been a difficult one for many
families. Many are grieving the loss of loved ones, and some are grieving the
very recent loss of family members. I recently found out about two such losses
the week before Christmas. One heartbreaking loss was the life a young pregnant
woman to suicide and the other equally tragic loss was a young man lost to
unstable choices due to mental illness leading to a murder. Though these
individuals are very different people they are both young and both children and
siblings. Both individuals lost their lives to their illness. One more
specifically lost his life due to a lack of service support in his community.
So I sat up all night in bed wondering how this can happen?
How do we stop this from happening and why aren’t we noticing that lives are
being lost daily due to insufficient support for mental illnesses? I felt that
after all my years of advocacy we were losing the war. How could I move forward
when my heart was broken and I felt that no one who has the power to make
change cares?
But then I thought about another life we recently lost, Mr.
Nelson Mandela. And I wondered - how did he do it? How did he keep moving
forward when possibly every other day felt like a loss? How did he keep
committed to his fight when he was imprisoned? How did he continue to love both
sides and offer complete forgiveness to those who were wronging his community?
This great quote says so much, “I am fundamentally an
optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of
being optimistic is keeping one's head pointed toward the sun, one's feet
moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was
sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That
way lays defeat and death” (Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom).
Though I do not find myself the eternal optimist I take
heart in “keeping one's head pointed toward the sun, one's feet moving forward”.
One step at a time. Remember the community who are fighting for justice with
you. Remember that change is slow. Remember you are not in this fight alone.
Remember love and forgiveness.
