fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
Kindness Acts
By: Shanzay Babar
Tags: Happiness In Life, Kindness Matters, Compassion, Comfort Zone, Soothing

Chicken Chili Dry

Made Food For My Family On Their Request

#Cooking #Foodie ;)

Cocktail Dessert

Made A Dessert For My Brother On his Special Request

#Cravings #Yumm #Foodies :P

A Cup Of Tea For My sister As She was Not Feeling Well

#Caring #Cozy_Mood :)

Arranged A Birthday Party Own My Own For My Beloved Younger Sister

#Art #Creativity #Happiness :)

Comforting My Best Partner By Taking Her Out Of Her Problems

#Comfy #Compassion :)
I See You
By: Janet Lesley Powers
Tags: Spiritual Growth, Awakening, Compassion, Poetry, Love

Photo by Ishan @seefromthesky on Unsplash

I see You.

I see a Spirit

Born to Be Human

Inviting a cornucopia

Of human experiences

Here, on this Planet



Then not always liking

Many of those experiences.

Your contractions, pain, and suffering

From some of those experiences

Can feel unbearable.



All the while You are

Knowing, feeling

At some level in Self

That in contrast

To the pain, the emotional suffering

There is more to ‘Life’ than this.

Something inside you says:

“I can’t simply be here for ‘this’.”

“Look at the stars!”

“Look at the flowers!”



Sometimes, Your heart

Starts to sing

Through connections with nature,

Through connections with others,

Through a deeper connection

With Self.



Sometimes we

‘Get it Right’.

We naturally expand

With All That IS

And Life Feels Right.

We shake off the pain

of our contractions.

We feel and experience

The Spirit That We Truly Are.

Then Love overtakes

All other emotions…

If we can allow it.

I See You.

You are ‘me’

At the deepest level

Of Our Beingness.

Whatever you may Be

On the surface of Life,

Whatever you may

Be doing with your life

Or co-creating with others

That might be judged as

‘evil’ or ‘good’

By some…



I know that your Spirit

Is taking you through

Those experiences.

They are needed

To get you to a place

Where you say

“No More!”

“I will untangle

My emotional memories.

I will transcend my resistances.”



And You KNOW…

It may just be a whisper

Deep inside right now

That you can’t begin to describe

Taking you toward greater knowing…

And your Spirit Knows:

“I Can Be More,

I Can Experience More.

I no longer need

To create victimhood,

Repeat my suffering,

Or give away my Power.”



That’s when

I feel

My heart sing

For You

And with You.



— — o0o — —
The Covid Blame Game is Toxic. Here’s Why.
By: Mo Perry
Tags: Pandemic, Compassion, Nature, Blame, Covid 19

We humans are having a tough year.

But we aren’t alone in our susceptibility to pandemics. They unfold around us all the time, in trees and birds and frogs.

Chronic Wasting Disease spreads when healthy and infected deer share food or water, as deer do.

Phocine Distemper Virus is a highly transmissible respiratory virus that causes mass mortality in seals. It spreads when they gather in the spring for breeding season, as seals do.

Nosema Disease, which severely weakens or wipes out bee colonies, is spread when healthy bees clean infected bees’ waste inside their hives, as bees do.

SARS-CoV-2 spreads among humans when they share space and time, as humans do.

These are some other things that humans do: They deny that it’s happening, or they insist that we focus on its happening to the exclusion of all else. They make sacrifices to protect each other. They look for who to blame.

Some blame China. Early on, some blamed big city-dwellers and their choice to live in disease-promoting density. Now many urbanites are blaming rural people and their backward, science-denying ways.

A whole lot of folks blame Trump. Many blame people who don’t wear masks. My cousin in Toledo blames the masks themselves (claiming that inhaling CO2 changes the body’s pH to create a more disease-prone environment).

Underlying all the blame is a shared feeling, poured into different molds.

Underlying all the blame is a shared feeling, poured into different molds. The feeling is a combination of fear and anger and grief, a terrifying loss of control. The molds give the feeling a shape, a way to hold it and carry it around. You can pick whichever one you choose.

I wonder if the deer do this, or the seals. When a virus sweeps through, do they hurry to come up with a list of foolish deer and selfish seals to blame?
I have some thoughts on perceived strength.
By: Michelle Loucadoux
Tags: Compassion, Emotional Health, Inspiration, Emotional Intelligence, Community

I have some thoughts on perceived strength. We look at the people who seem to have their emotional $h!t together and assume that they don’t need help.

Instead, we see the visibly damaged and expend our resources on helping them. Those who are seen as able to persevere spend their time triaging the everyday dramas of the admittedly broken. All the while, they feel the cracks below their tough exterior continue to deteriorate their perception of the obvious iniquity.

Everyone is deserving of compassion and care. Not just those who seem to need it. I encourage you all to look to the people right now who you assume are strong enough to withstand any storm. Ask them if they’re okay. Because it’s highly likely that they are not.
Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s Saintliness (Part 2)
By: Param Shanti
Tags: Selflessness, Compassion, Simplicity, Pramukh Swami Maharaj, Respect

His Relentless Vicharan

The spring sun was remorselessly beating upon the tiny village of Nana Rajkot in Saurashtra. Swamishri, seated in a bullock cart, was being welcomed by the villagers in a procession. The above photo provides a glimpse into the rigors of his monumental vicharan.

In the winter of 1982, Swamishri was walking with about ten tribal devotees in the village of Aambaatalaat, as part of a procession to welcome him (see bottom right). Such occasions reveal his unique character as a spiritual traveler, striving his utmost to uplift all.

Very often people ask Swamishri, “What is your address?” Swamishri answers with a smile, simply because he is always on the move, doing vicharan. He travels to villages and cities, farms and fields, homes and huts; sanctifying and bless­ing ceaselessly. He has reached out to countless people to dissolve their pains and celebrate their joys. He has always lived in the midst of society to resolve its sufferings and calamities.

Even where there have been no roads, Swamishri has travelled out of compassion and service. His visits to the straw and mud huts of tribal villagers in the Selvas, Panchmahal and Dang re­gions bear testimony to his selfless services. He has disregarded a body fever of 102°F and sancti­fied 122 homes in Vasad; in 20 days he had visited 90 villages in the Surat region and 95 villages in the Kanam region.

In many villages, despite the lack of ba­sic amenities and other issues, Swamishri has remained undeterred and unflappable in his vi­charan. When he travelled in the Bhal region he remained calm and happy, but those accompa­nying him became frustrated and irritated. The reason being that the region challenged them like no other place: they had to put up with drinking the murky and salty waters of the village pond, the scorching sun, absence of electric lights and fans and the assault of dust particles saturating the air! To add to these travails every village car­ried out a procession (nagar-yatra) to honor Swamishri. This further created clouds of dust. Then, invariably, a satsang assembly followed coupled with padhramanis. But Swamishri never complained or got agitated.

Sometimes his day turned out to be long and weary. It was ekadashi on March 9, 1979 and Swamishri had observed a waterless fast. He left Gariyadhar at 8:00 a.m. and travelled to Morba, Chavoliya, Kutana and finally to Velavadar. In every village he had to sit through the nagar-yatras and make home visits.

That same evening, Swamishri performed the murti-partishtha at the BAPS hari mandir in Mota Bhamodra, then he presided over the public as­sembly in Jesar till 11:30 p.m. before finally retir­ing for the night.

The stories of Swamishri’s arduous and histor­ic vicharan in thousands of villages and towns will forever remain etched in the annals of Satsang history. However, the notable fact of it all is that Swamishri has never ever mentioned or com­plained about his vicharan!
You Are Not Alone
By: Katherine G. Macrae
Tags: Compassion, Healing, Kindness, Covid 19, Love

You Are Not Alone

Photo by Thomas Kinto on Unsplash

The current pandemic has left us all wondering what the future holds and scared life will never be the same.

Your life may never be the same as it was before, but it is possible it could be better. That’s the thing about life, the only certainty is change. And death.

There are important lessons in pain, despair and loss. It would serve us well to remember we are here for a short time on this earth and we do not know when our time, or that of our loved ones, is up.

Regardless of the outside packaging, race, gender, ethnicity, beliefs, etc., humans are more alike than they are different. Every human being wants to feel loved and appreciated for who they are at their core.

The broken pieces of us where we hurt can cause us to shut down or act out if we become stunted in working through that pain and only react instead of learning, growing, sharing and transcending it.

We need to treat each other and ourselves with kindness, respect, appreciation and dignity. Each of us can learn something from every person, whether or not we agree with them, or even like them.

This point in time in history with a worldwide pandemic is a personal reckoning for humanity. It is time to look within oneself, to acknowledge and heal our broken parts, to love ourselves fully as we are. Then look outside oneself and shine your light for others who are feeling lost, searching in their darkness.

I hope you choose to be that light. Learn to love, to appreciate, to forgive, to heal yourself and others as you resolve to make a positive impact in this world.

Life may not be the same as it was before, but it can, and you can be better and stronger and softer and more compassionate and more loving to yourself and others than you ever were before.
An Idea (by Ingenious Piece)
By: Shaler Houser
Tags: Compassion, Giving, Poetry, Relationships, Love

Photo by JJ Shev on Unsplash

Compassion, flowing, as water through the garden

Love, blooming, as lilies to the sky

Respect, caressing, as a mother to the newborn

Fondness, feeding, prayers to the highest

Cherish, serving, as humanity to the poor

Adore, touching, as a child to the puppy

Honor, embracing, as an owner to the homeless

Glorify, bequeathing, as a saint to the sinner

Indifference be damned, for all as one, we stand United in humanity
Live And Let Live
Tags: Beyourself, Compassion, Kindness, Tolerance, Society

Strife, arguments: that’s the news cycle of today. It’s all for show, and unfortunately, more than ever before, that’s what politics in this country has become.

The quicker we take Twitter away from all politicians, the better. Then we only get to hear them occasionally, as opposed to all the time.

“What is objectionable, what is dangerous, about extremists is not that they are extreme, but that they are intolerant. The evil is not what they say about their cause, but what they say about their opponents.” — Robert Kennedy

Most of us want to live a simple life, with our focus being on ourselves, not denigrating or judging others.

If we consider how many hours humanity has spent worrying about what ‘others’ are doing and not focused on how they’re living their own lives.

We’ve taken comparisons and differences in our own lives and others’ as the constant pastime in history. It’s then been built upon to create tiffs, arguments, and war.

Photo by Pawel Janiak on Unsplash

It’s cost lives: in monetary terms, it’s probably cost more than feeding global humanity many times over. And for what — to soothe a few hurt feelings of their respective leaders, a disagreement of opinions, a dispute?

I live by the Live and Let Live mantra. After all, what choice do I have even if I don’t agree with others’ lives — look to control them? That would be a gross over-reach of my abilities, to know what’s best for others. And to change others to suit my view of life seems so obscene, truly.

National news media has now taken on the role of divisor-in-chief, and we find ourselves at an ugly stage in US history. Everyone has an oversized opinion, and boy, we all need to hear it. I am so put off by the news cycle. I can’t watch more than ten minutes.
Forgiveness…What’s that all about?
By: Dave Fogarty
Tags: Buddha, Confucius, Compassion

Perhaps the two most difficult things for me to say are: “Please forgive me” and its twin, “I forgive you.”



But for my soul to be at peace; to achieve the goal of being kind, compassionate and loving unconditionally, these are words I must utter every day.



According to Buddhist teachings, we should strive to live in such a way that we never harm others or are impacted by those who harmed us. But that’s a tall order in the world we live in. Intentionally or unintentionally, our actions can hurt other people, other animals or the planet. If we are carnivores, our appetites require killing cows, chickens, pigs and fish. Even vegetarians have an impact. For example, converting what were once wild prairie lands into corn and soy bean field destroys wildlife habitat. Water diverted from the wild rivers to San Francisco for drinking and showering has drowned beautiful venues such as the Hetch Hetchy valley, and severely harmed aquatic habitat in the bay and delta.



And shall we count the ways we harm each other? Have you ever snarled at a Customer Support person on the phone, barked at your partner while “hangry?” Or can you recall when you’ve been the victim of slights, insults, robberies, frauds, scams, assaults, cheating spouses, liars, disloyal friends, unappreciative children…you name it?



I don’t know about you, but I’m getting triggered by writing all this junk down. As I sketched out the list above, I found myself digging out memories which in turn brought forth
It’s Not the Thought That Counts but Whether You Choose to Be Thoughtful
By: Bethany Dugas
Tags: Stereotypes, Compassion, Thinking, Cognitive Bias, Thoughts

It’s Not the Thought That Counts but Whether You Choose to Be Thoughtful

My friend, Marie, told me a story about an experience I believe most of us can identify with. When she was a teenager, she had not yet met anyone who identified as being in gender transition (or “trans”) or as gender fluid. She was with a friend in a public space and saw (from her point of view) a man who was a cross-dresser. Her friend referred to the person using feminine pronouns. Marie was upset with her friend, thinking it rude of her to speak about someone who (to her) was obviously male as if they were a woman. She felt this was an act of shaming a man for wearing women’s clothing. Once they were both calmer, her friend explained that the man was transitioning from the gender he was born with (his “cisgender”) to the gender he personally identified with.

After Marie understood what it meant for a person to be transgender, she felt (in her words) “ashamed of thinking of transgender people as being whatever gender they appear to be.” More than ten years after this experience, Marie thinks of what she had thought as “shameful” and is frustrated with her previous ignorance, despite being aware that she had reacted from a space of intending to be supportive of a person’s gender non-conforming choice of wardrobe.

I’m sure all of us can recall similar experiences. I re-entered school as a mature student and completed a degree in environmental engineering. I recall discussing environmental concerns with friends and family after gaining more education and being embarrassed to realize I had previously shared poorly supported opinions as if they were facts. Why hadn’t I shown more humility about the limits of my own understanding? The answer was that I was unaware of what I didn’t know. I believed I was sharing facts.

These are both examples of wrongly believing something (having an incorrect thought) when intending to be thoughtful about a person or situation. The obvious reason to let go of feeling ashamed of “incorrect thoughts” is that they happened in the past. If the mistaken belief has been corrected, there is no use in dwelling further on it. However, I believe there are greater benefits to focusing on thinking intentionally (rather than on thoughts, themselves) than not participating in a needless cycle of guilt.
You Can Leave Your Hat On
By: Vance Larson
Tags: Compassion, Kindness, Relationships, Hats, Business

I’ve been a rich man, and I’ve been a poor man. I have been strong, and I have been weak. But no matter where I was in my life, no matter what hat I was wearing, no matter what my status or position was, I extended kindness. And that is the hat that I always leave on.

We all wear many hats in our day to day life. We may be a parent, student, boss or employee, husband or wife. And sometimes, we wear multiple hats on any given day. But what I find interesting, is who we are will always shine through. It doesn’t matter what is happening in your life, the essence of what you believe radiates out for the whole world to see. Are you comfortable in the way you shine?

Have you met a person of power or position, and despite their position, they treat everyone with respect? These people are true gems. Flip side of that coin, take a different person in that same position, and they are not only unfair, but they go out of their way to command respect. And that is something that can’t be done. Money, power and position do not entitle you to respect. Kindness, honesty and compassion do.

There is a great saying, “The only valid reason why someone would want to lead, is to better serve.” Boom! Master the art of the win. Working for the win {for everyone} is how I have gained every good thing in my life. From my many successes in business, to my long term marriage to my wife. I ask questions, check assumptions and listen to learn. This is how we enrich not only ourselves, but our community. I don’t need the credit. If it comes, great. If it doesn’t, I have peace. And that is the greatest currency.

You will wear many hats over the course of your lifetime. And if you were to ask me, the only one worth leaving on, is your hat of kindness.
Hangry Birds
By: The Good Men Project
Tags: Personal Development, Compassion, Self Care, Family, Life Lessons

Hangry Birds

Photo Credit: iStock

By Jonny Lupsha

Sometimes, being a parent is as much about learning what not to do as anything else. Fortunately, in my seven years as a father, I’ve seen ample cautionary tales and bad examples of parenting to avoid in order to be a good man in general and a good dad to my kids. One of the most obvious givens to me over the years has been putting my family’s needs ahead of my own whenever I can, and at least putting their needs in front of my wants. So imagine my surprise when I encountered two fathers in a week who chose to loudly express their annoyance with their families because dad hadn’t eaten recently enough — or as I like to call them, Hangry Birds.

The first was in the pediatrician’s waiting room when my wife and I took our newborn son for his day-after-discharge well visit. Any parent can picture this scene. The glass partition separated the healthy kid waiting area from the sick kid waiting area. New, first-time parents kept watchful eyes over their newborns. Sick schoolkids leaned their heads on their moms’ shoulders, pouting and red-faced. Parents checked their watches.

The guy next to me was an early 20s frat boy whose girlfriend was carrying their newborn, his car seat, his diaper bag and her purse, despite having just given birth. The dad sat back with his head leaned back against the glass wall, legs spread, feet out in front of him, looking bored. I didn’t notice them until he drew attention to himself with a restless, annoyed sound. It was a bemused half-sigh half-scoff, the kind you make when you want someone to know you’re in a bad mood so they’ll ask you why, thus giving you an open invitation to complain. Apparently his baby mama wasn’t taking the bait though, so he did it again and adjusted his tattered baseball cap. Then she looked over with patient eyes.

“What?”

“Like…I’m just really hungry, babe. I didn’t eat before we left.”

“Sorry,” she said.

My wife and I exchanged quick glances but ignored him otherwise until he looked at the reception desk and brought it up again.

“Do you know how long these things take?” he asked. “I mean is this gonna take long? I, like, totally need food.”

Clearly, this wasn’t their first rodeo. Her face said she knew it was pointless to respond, although she seemed to be growing exhausted with him. He kept fidgeting and scoffing, eroding her patience the way a woodpecker needles a tree. Even my wife sighed through her nose and rolled her eyes as he continued.

“I’m just saying, babe, my stomach is like…unh.”

Precisely at this moment, the nurse called them back for their appointment in the middle of his third plea. Hungry Bro shuffled his way towards the exam rooms, rubbing his stomach and practicing his Resting Jerk Face while his Birkenstocks scraped along the hardwood. Babe gathered their things and followed him.
Paris Street, Rainy Day
By: Matthew De Lacey Davidson
Tags: Compassion, Paris, Impressionism, France, Mindfulness

This is a pastiche of W. H. Auden’s (1907–1973) masterpiece, Musée des Beaux Arts (1938). Auden’s original poem has 21 lines, so I based my poem almost completely on the rhyming scheme of the first original 14 lines of Auden’s poem, thus making my poem a sonnet.

Paris Street, Rainy Day is a fabulous, enormous painting by Gustave Caillebotte (1848–1894), which is held in the Art Institute of Chicago, and I visited it almost once a week for a few years. It was painted in 1877, the year that Northern forces withdrew from the American South, thereby ending Reconstruction, and allowing civil rights abuses towards black Americans to continue until the civil rights era in the 1960s.
Compassion, It’s Root and Transformative Power
By: Corina Oana
Tags: Compassion, Transformation, Forgivethem

with permission from friend

The body, is it safe?

If you grew up in a city you possibly have had the shock of strangers expose themselves. In parks. Or subways. Or alleys.

Discuss. Fear. Anger. Shame. These were the emotions I felt back then. Now, as an adult, I’ve come to understand that society had failed them. But how to explain this? It isn’t a #metoo story, or is it?

Today both the photo above showed up on my Facebook feed. Also today an article crossed my path. Not on Facebook. Serendipitous and liberating. A quote form the article explains my logic more clearly than I could. “Often we respond to oppresive behavior as if it’s located within the individual, rather than it being linked to broader systems. Understanding the social roots … makes us aware that the problem is larger than any individual and that we are all implicated in the structures that cause the problems. This provides us with the ability and responsibility to work toward transforming the roots.”

This is the work that matters. How can we transform our personal ways and start compassionate ripples so our society can evolve to help those in need?

Engaging with the Facebook post was my first attempt to transform my own ways. Why be silent when othering happens. The word weirdo isn’t inclusive. It harms. My silence would have perpetuated. harm.

This confession, this story is my second step and ripple of compassion. I know I’m not alone, that others have found ways to forgive those that have harmed them. Please share your story with the tag: forgivethem.
I am lucky that my Mother listens to me when I have suicidal feelings.
By: Todd Zen
Tags: Depression, Suicide

I am lucky that my Mother listens to me when I have suicidal feelings. I can tell her exactly what my mind is telling me. She knows that my stays at the inpatient Psyche Ward didn’t help me. So she doesn’t encourage me to go to the Hospital.
Behind Closed Doors
Tags: Life, Sad, Suicide, Love, Famous

12/26/2020

This story is about a girl named Amy. Her parents are very wealthy and famous. Outsiders would say she has the perfect little life, but that's not true… Amy was homeschooled up to age 10. Her parents (Noah and Anais) thought their child might be lonely, considering she is the only child. When she starts school, everything messes up. Years later she gets bullied and sent death threats. Amy thinks of giving up and committing suicide, but little did she know she would meet someone special. The question is, will Amy commit suicide or will this new person stop her from her death?? Read Behind Closed Doors to find out!! {COMING SOON}

NOT THE STORY!!!!
Changing days changing minds
By: Megha Mohan
Tags: Suicide, Change Your Life

I’m a 17 year old girl from the South of India . From my 17 year old experience on earth I found that we, humans have a more like weather mind. For example, today I was thinking that i should reuse old things and at the same instant my mind said ‘no you should leave old things and try new things’ so this a typical changing mind of every human.

The main reason for writing this today is because I felt very sorry for my friend who passed away before 1 week , suicide. Suicide is an another issue which arises due to unstable mind. Suicide is a thought that arises within a minute which makes the person feel so powerful and fearless which makes him follow his dark visions . A true passionate and hardworking person will never end his life on a 2 inch of rope or anything else . Instability of mind seems to be common and fearless but its very dangerous when it comes to decision making. People will normally tend to believe what their mind says so if we are having a changing unstable mind we will be driven by our false ideologies which is hard for a second person to change. These kind of people believe strictly on their mind which is really just a thought of second . they are truly driven by the fixed thoughts in their mind. That's the major reason for suicides also . In most cases it takes a long time to change the mind of a suicide decided person . These are just my views and I really don’t know how we can convince a person from suicide.
Sometimes
By: Luna Granger
Tags: Suicide, Poetry, Sad

Sometimes I feel

Painfully lonely

All exhausted, all destroyed

I’m unable to reach

All love and loyalty

From the ones I loved

I’m always the one

Who talks first

Who gives a hug

Who cheers you up

But instead

When I’m the one in need

I’m always all alone

I’m always lost

Always… By myself

I always regret

To share good stuff

To share bad news

It was way better

To keep all shit inside

To keep all good for me

Cause in the end

Nothing will matter

Nobody will care

If I jump from the ladder
The Journey of My Eating Disorders: the Beginning
By: My Story, Eating Disorders
Tags: Confessions, Real Stories, Eating Disorders, Trigger Warning, Suicide

Dear you,

This is my story about how eating disorders have eaten up my life, piece by piece, over time years…from anorexia to bulimic… I need help. I need to stop this monster from eating up my life. I need to share my story. And I hope my story can help you know more about eating disorders.

This is how I began to spiral out of control…

The concept of being skinny will make you pretty has always been deeply integrated in my childhood. I don't remember a day in my life that I am not subconsciously thinking about my weights. Mind you, I was 5'2 and weighed 120–125, give or take. It was those mindless comments from family members that catalyzed these dark thoughts in my head. When their comments act as a form of greeting at family gatherings, they really play with you…

I am worthless if I am not thin enough.

I am ugly if I am fat.

And if you are fat, you won't be loved…

I was 14 years old. I was a freshmen in high school. I remembered everything started to spiral out of control on the night of Christmas Eve. I remembered coming back from a family dinner I locked myself in the walk-in closet of my room. I cried. Thinking about all those comments that were made by my family, I was so embarrassed. I was horrified. I thought I was not enough and I will never be loved. I cried until numbness reached my brain…I remembered picking up that pocket knife and I saw droplets of blood running down my arms…

I was relieved. I felt better. I did…But it also provoked many other things that I was about to do to myself.

All I wanted was to be loved..

To be continued…
What I can’t say…
By: Arooma Farooqie
Tags: Psycology, Thoughts And Feelings, Suicide, Everyday Life, What A World

Every day flowing ideas, everyday midday dreams, everyday stumbling thoughts, every day my mingling voices….

I know maybe I am dumb, maybe I am not what you have thought, maybe I am not the one …but that’s how I was created, Neither to follow your patterns of trait nor the inhabited crowds.

Every day when I woke up my mind starts to flow through all the conspiracies I have to face today, for whatever I have to face this morning, for whatever I have to work hard for, for whatever I don’t want to lose. Before even properly waking up, those short clips surround the mind, those of the mournful ones, those in which I fail, those which ones hit me hard. But Alas! I have to get up and live up to that day with that bright smile.

Sometimes it gets really hard for what I wish to do but can’t do, I really wish to overcome but can’t, I really want to achieve but can't, because I can’t say… Life is full of struggles, sometimes I really do think why I am like this, why I am the only one suffering, why me, why they…and those never-ending WHY’S. But at the end of the day, only you are the one who has to tackle, stand up, and walk through it. Only you are the one who can hear those dreadful voices, those cries of failure, those vulnerable echoes juggling in your brain. Many times we see those bright people laughing cheerfully everyday, those people who are always the brightest star, that everyday smart kid, and we set them up as our only aspirations at the upper higher cortex level perhaps, forever, if one day we wouldn't be able to see their true side, we would've not to meet their real life, they would have always been our only one goal. But we met them, and bricks in my mind suddenly start to stutter and the whole house of inspiration broke into pieces. Now, I am alone in this world, I don't have anyone to aim for, anyone to go after and well my goal is nothing. What I can’t say is not what I can’t speak, but what I don't have to speak to, the being.
Suicide Prevention
Tags: Suicide Prevention, Mental Health, Sadness, Suicide, Hopelessness

Suicide prevention starts with recognizing the warning signs and taking them seriously. If you think a friend or family member is suicidal, there’s plenty you can do to help save a life.

The World Health Organization estimates that approximately 1 million people die each year from suicide. What drives so many individuals to take their own lives? To those who are not in the grips of suicidal depression and despair, it’s difficult to understand what drives so many individuals to take their own lives. But a suicidal person is in so much pain that they can see no other option.

Most suicidal individuals give warning signs or signals of their intentions. The best way to prevent suicide is to recognize these warning signs and know how to respond if you spot them. If you believe that a friend or family member is suicidal, you can play a role in suicide prevention by pointing out the alternatives, showing that you care, and getting a doctor or psychologist involved.

Major warning signs for suicide include talking about killing or harming oneself, talking or writing a lot about death or dying, and seeking out things that could be used in a suicide attempt, such as weapons and drugs. These signals are even more dangerous if the person has a mood disorder such as depression or bipolar disorder, suffers from alcohol dependence, has previously attempted suicide, or has a family history of suicide.

A more subtle, but equally dangerous, warning sign of suicide is hopelessness. Studies have found that hopelessness is a strong predictor of suicide. People who feel hopeless may talk about “unbearable” feelings, predict a bleak future, and state that they have nothing to look forward to.

Other warning signs that point to a suicidal mind frame include dramatic mood swings or sudden personality changes, such as switching from outgoing to withdrawn or from well-behaved to rebellious. A suicidal person may also lose interest in day-to-day activities, neglect their appearance, or show big changes in their eating or sleeping habits.

Suicide prevention tip 1: Speak up if you’re worried

Tip 2: Respond quickly in a crisis

Tip 3: Offer help and support

To help a suicidal person, Get professional help, Follow-up on treatment, Be proactive, Encourage positive lifestyle changes, Make a safety plan, Remove potential means of suicide, Continue your support as well
Out with a bang
By: Kade Wright
Tags: Tragic, Domestic Abuse, Short Story, Mature Material, Suicide

“Do it, end it now!" a voice demanded.

" I won't!" a girl said angrily.

" They will take you away if you don't. " the voice said.

" It was an accident, they will understand."the girl said glancing over at a dead body.

The body was next to a table covered in blood. The crimson red liquid covered the man's face. The man had a bullet hole in his throat. His eyes glassy with shock.

" You killed your husband Sarah, they will lock you up forever." the voice said.

" Get out of my head! " Sarah yelled as she hit herself with the butt in of the revolver still in her hand.

" The only way to get me to leave is to end it," the voice said.

" No, I won't go out like that" Sarah yelled crying historically.

The sound of sirens started getting louder. Sarah starts to panic, pacing back and forth. Smoke still in the air from her husband's cigarette that's now on the floor next to him. Whiskey and bleed mix in the wounds on her arms from her husband's daily "corrections". Sarah's mind started to race even faster as the sirens approached. Was that her only way out? It's can't be right? That should understand, that have to understand why.

" You better make up your mind, go out with a bang or go to jail for life," the voice said.

"No, I won't, I'll tell them it was an accident, they will understand, they understand," Sarah said wiping tears from her eyes.

Sarah slid to the wall to prop herself up. She started to cry as the sirens got closer and the realization of what she just did fall upon her. The police pulled up in front of her house and got out. They briskly walked to the door. One of the cops knocked on the door.

" Mrs. Hendrick, it's the police is everything ok? open the door." the police officer yelled.

" They're here to take you way Sarah, what will you do?" the voice said

"O-out with a bang, right? I'll finally be free?" Sarah stuttered as she put the gun to her temple and slowly pulled the trigger.

The gun clicked, She jerked away surprised it didn’t go off. She pulled the trigger again this time faster. The chamber rolled over. The hammer fell striking the primer of the casing. A loud ear piercing bang could be heard from inside. blood splattered on the wall next to her. The police kicked open the door and saw Her lifeless body fall to the ground. they stood in the doorway shocked to see what happened in the room. On her face was a calm smile. A smile that she has never made before. She finally looked happy and peaceful. The police bagged up her husband’s body. when they went to take her body they stopped and stared at her smile for a bit before zipping it up.
Auroraleigh
By: Carrisa Chang
Tags: Mental Health, Poetry, Songwriting, Suicide, Poem

may your memory be a blessing.

Auroraleigh

Can you hear me are you okay?

Auroraleigh

What do the flowers look like next May?

Auroraleigh

Oh how I wish to walk your way

Auroraleigh

What have you been up to today?

Auroraleigh

The world without you is so gray

Auroraleigh

Oh how I wished you’d stayed

Auroraleigh

Like the borealis

Splashes of rainbow light

Spilling across the night sky so bright

Fractals of ice guiding me home

Making sure I’m never alone

I hope where are you is freedom

I hope you feel home in your kingdom

I hope you have a hot big titty goth gf

I really wish you’d never left

Did you figure out the secret to love?

Goth guardian angel from above

Gentle soul, too soft for this world

Why is it always so damn cold

Sweet honey, golden kindness

The bats sleep in your obsidian dress

Crown of onyx, sapphire, tourmaline

Always a dark goddess in my dreams

Leather jacket goth beauty

Always such a small cutie

Heavy boots and dark lipstick

Girl you always dressed so sick

Soft hearted, caring soul

I’ll keep your memory inside my soul

Gentle love, ray of kindness

Oh your lovely smile I will reminisce

Aurora borealis

Lighting my way back home

From San Diego, Champaign, Vancouver, to Nome

Glittering shimmering blues, greens, and gold

Flowing through the night sky, brave and bold

I feel your soul in every sunrise, sunset, and midnight moon

I really wish you didn’t have to leave so soon

Remember when we laughed so hard you bent over

What I would do to hug you a little closer

Echoing in the sunlight like a fresh shout

Your laugh I have to learn to live life without

Our memories kept in a locket by my heart

I’ll miss you during our time apart

I love how everyone remembers your silly snort

Little miss goth piggy, in heaven with her girls resort

I hope whenever you are your mind is quiet

That the voices have gone you’ll never be bothered by it

I dream that you’ll watch over us

Every time I find a new girl or crush

You’ll be looking over my shoulder

Happy I’m in love and my warm embrace can hold her

Thank you for giving me your love

My dark and lovely angel from above

Auroraleigh

What do the stars say?

Auroraleigh

Oh how I miss your loving rays

Auroraleigh

I wish you hadn’t made a mistake

Auroraleigh

Will I see you by the bay?

Auroraleigh

How am I supposed to be okay
This is an informative article: Don’t accept the one’s self + can’t regulate/tolerate the negative…
By: Victor Nguyen
Tags: Suicide, Mental Health, Psychology

This is an informative article: Don’t accept the one’s self + can’t regulate/tolerate the negative emotions => cognitive deconstruction => suicide.
Very nice article on suicide.
By: Victor Nguyen
Tags: Suicide, Mental Health, Psychology

Very nice article on suicide. The reason someone takes their life is a complex of many things going on, not on such harsh condemnation: “He chooses to kill himself”
[WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT]
Tags: Suicide, Kill Me Now, Crash Bandicoot, Suicidal

[WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT]

for this entry, i wear no mask of poetry to hide how i feel. this would be more like a journal entry, and i suppose this will suffice as its resting place. all i can think of is the easiest way to end my pain, and that would be firing a twelve gauge shotgun round into my mouth straight to my brain whilst hanging by my feet atop a well. i’ve everything i need, i now just need to make the journey. i am currently seriously considering this option, as i feel i deserve it, and i wish to rid myself of this pain. i don’t wish for vices to escape the pain, i don’t wish for substances to numb myself, i don’t wish for sleep to enter my own world that’s a dice roll of chance whether it’s good, bad, or nonexistent, none of those will suffice. the pain with which i’m afflicted feels as though it can only be drowned out in blood, another way my mind is yelling at me is digging a hunting knife deep into both of my wrists facing the blade vertical and carving up to my elbow, or as far as i can get with a knife scraping up against my bone, opening up my arteries and veins like wet paper. these, i feel, are my only two options to rid myself of this pain, and all others, therefore ridding all others around me of the pains i cause them day in and day out. i feel this to be the superior option, and i do not fear death. however, i wish i would’ve gotten to accomplish more. this isn’t to say i’ll go through with this, honestly i don’t think i will, but it means i’ll be heavily considering this for some time, meaning the next thing to set me off could topple the pile and very well push me over the edge. this is not a cry for help, nor is it meant to scare anyone or evoke pity, this is merely a vice for me to speak my mind, as i have nobody to talk to. good morrow to all, may the end of the world join us soon.
Stop.
Tags: Suicide, Darkness

Stop.

Maybe the knife was sharp, maybe it was not. A small inclination that would end everything. Everything is difficult but as long as I have air in my lungs I will not stop. I simply can not.

I think about great people before me who did not have a choice. They fought with every last breath.

The knife does not seem sharp anymore.
Numb, or something like that…
By: A Girl You Know
Tags: Lost, Self Harm, Space, Numb, Suicide

Photo by Jakub Sofranko on Unsplash

Numb, or something like that

it's all starting to blend together the days are all the same. Sundays are the worst because that's when the cycle starts over. Mondays or Tuesdays they all mean the same things, wake up with the same stale taste in my mouth. stare into a stupid box that entertained me until someone makes me move. might eat something might not it really depends if I remember because I forget quite often I fill the hunger with meaningless “meals” some weird food I have in my room. the last time I was really here I was alone. I was in my car, music blasting. I felt like I was in a movie. the song electric love played through the speakers I cried that day. not exactly sure why. I just felt real. I wasn't just a piece in an equation.

my friends have stopped actually caring and so have I. I don't text anyone and no one texts me if I don't text them I guess that's how you can tell who really cares. unless all of your friends are mentally ill like mine. we all would straight up die for each other but we don't put energy in if the other doesn't. you might think that's sad but I've come to terms with it. At least I think I have not really sure of anything.

the overwhelming feelings all at once have created this overall flatlined feeling of nothing. nothing is worth it. I don't feel any significance at all. I'm not exactly suicidal at least that's what my therapist says but I become more and more comfortable with the feeling of death. I have these weird moments where I am planning my death and then the next morning I act as I didn't just shread my arms to pieces. I don't even know what is going on anymore.
The Look. The Love.(end of prologue)
Tags: Death And Dying, Facial Expressions, Prologue, Sneak Peak, Suicide

In the seconds before I hit him, I thought to myself, why would anyone start to walk towards a speeding car, until I realized why someone would do that. Then, I noticed something out of the ordinary, a peculiar look upon his face.

He did not express fear or worry about what was going to happen next. Instead, he had this pleasant, sort of peaceful expression, which spoke so much in such a short amount of time. His eyes expressed pain but looked at peace, all the while, his smile expressed gratitude as if he was thanking me for something.

Altogether, he had this expression that I knew all too well. An expression that I had seen too many times to count. Something I fought to never see again on myself or others.

The expression that stated, “Kill me, please.”
It’s My Time.
By: Sofia Acevedo
Tags: Draft, Depression, Poetry, Suicide, Sadness

I wish I could disappear for one day

Leaving all my trouble behind.

A day to relive all my best memories

And not give a damn about time.

Thoughts of doubt are clawing at my brain

Telling me it’s time to stop.

But my timeline has grown long enough

It’s time to take the shot.
Free From Regret
By: Louisa F
Tags: Depression, Mental Health, Poetry, Suicide, PTSD

I felt the small walls inside my head crumble

Behind them being suppressed memories

Distorted by nightmarish hallucinations

Without my walls, I was surrounded, engulfed

A captive prisoner to my own mind

Why did my brain emphasize the things I hate?

Why couldn’t they just be a small dot in the back of my mind?

Instead of this omnipresent void that has flooded my brain like a tsunami.

Is my heart filled with despair? Have I masked the fear?

If you felt the self-depreciation bear into you, would you do the same?

Tonight’s just another one of those nights. The ones where I’ll spend way too much time

On those small irrational fears, on those tiny insignificant words that go straight to my head

On those indescribable feelings, dripping into my skull

I’m trapped in there with my evil demons

Living in that small house I call a head

The unfortunate fact is, I know I’m not the only one

And yet, there at night when everyone else is asleep, I feel so alone

I’d do anything to escape it

Id do anything to be free like everyone else

Without attaching myself like a leach to my old mistakes

They still continue to disgust me

I swear I’m a good person, I swear I’m a good person, I swear I’m a good person

Those sentences never fool my pessimistic mind

And they never fool my suicidal tics that follow the attacks

I need to escape soon, before the thoughts start to formalize in my heart

But alas, I’m stolen away by my past.
Chapter 1
By: A Girl You Know
Tags: Self Harm, Middle School, Mental Health, Suicide, Friendship

Middle school

Photo by Matt Gross on Unsplash

So this girl I had been friends with for a while, the one with the divorcing parents we will name her isabella. She was actually the one to introduce me to my current favorite person we will call her Ella. Ella at the time was kinda just like all of the girls at our school. She had moved into our district recently. I didn't get super close with her until 8th-grade year. I struggled with isabella the most in 8th grade. It was nice that Ella had joined the situation she had her own struggles at the time tho. she was struggling with an eating disorder I was oblivious to she also was on-off with this guy. He's not very important tho. Isabella was really going through it at this point turns out that her dad had cheated on her mom and that was why they got divorced. That transition wasn't super great. by then Isabella had already tried to commit suicide once. Once again I had no idea. the only mental issues I was knowledgeable was self-harm and her depression. She was very fragile and it was very difficult to be her friend but I felt obligated to be there for her constantly. Ella was in the same position. this is the year that we really bonded. we had lunch every day and sleepovers on the weekends. 8th grade is more of a blur so that brings us up to freshmen year. Ella and I continued to struggle to keep our friend afloat. at this time isabella had been aided by a therapist and a visit to the mental hospital. I really feel like my friends struggle with mental health really roughed up my middle school experience. not that it's supposed to be a cakewalk but I had to mature really fast. Now that Isabella had gotten the help you would think she would be good to go. that was very much not the case she got admitted once again this time it just hurt more. not sure why tho. at this time Ella had really become her only true friend because I managed to slip through the cracks. Ella also has this issue with being pushed around in hopes of saving everyone's emotions but her own. she still struggles with this. she stayed in the loop for a while but she and I continued to get closer to the point where we were each other's, only friends. I liked it this way not sure why tho. later on, she made more friends and I didn't I felt like I owed something to her idk. we both didn't associate with isabella anymore.