3) When You're Left Behind ~ Who Suffers?

3] When You're Left Behind 

~ Who Suffers

A self-inflicted death does to the hearts of surviving loved ones what a suicide bomber does to the bodies and souls of his victims. Those closest to the emotional blast experience not only the physical impact but also the emotional devastation of a suicide. But whole communities are also deeply affected.

~ NEXT ~ 

[ The Immediate Family ]

2) When You're Left Behind ~ Who's At Risk?

2] When You're Left Behind 

~ Who's At Risk?

Who is most vulnerable to suicide? Although there are many exceptions, gender, race, and age are all factors.  

GENDER ~While males are four times more likely to die by suicide than females, females attempt suicide three times as often as males. The disparity in these numbers has to do with the fact that males usually choose more lethal means. Males use a gun 60 percent of the time, while females often use a drug overdose.  

RACE ~White Americans are twice as likely to die by suicide than all other racial backgrounds.  

AGE ~While the overall rate of suicide among youth has slowly declined since 1992, suicide still remains high and is the third leading cause of death among young people ages 15-24 and the second leading cause of death among those 22-34. Surprisingly, suicide rates increase with age and very high among people 65 and older, especially those who are suffering with physical illnesses or are divorced or widowed. In fact, the group most vulnerable to suicide is white American males over the age of 65. 

In spite of the desperation suicidal people battle with, the real victims of suicide are not those who die but those who are left behind to face the aftermath of a self-inflicted death. They are called survivors.

~ NEXT ~ 

[ Who Suffers ? ]

1) When You're Left Behind ~ The Magnitude Of The Problem

1 ] When You're Left Behind

~ The Magnitude Of The Problem

" With much wisdom comes much sorrow; 

the more knowledge, the more grief "

Those ancient words are all too true for those who face the sobering impact and frequency of suicide.  "Death has been called the 'the new obscenity,' the nasty thing which no polite person nowadays will talk about in public."  If that's the case, suicide is the proverbial elephant in the room that everyone would rather ignore than talk about.  "While suicides often take place in isolation, they never are unnoticed by others."  There are over one million suicides worldwide every year, each leaving behind at least 6 and often 10 or more survivors to wrestle with the aftershock. About 32,000 suicides occur in the US alone each year. That's one every 17 minutes, making it the eleventh leading cause of death. More people in the US die each year by suicide than by HIV or homicide. It is estimated that in the US alone there are well over 5 million suicide survivors, and more than 12,000 children who will lose a parent this year to suicide. While those numbers alone are are staggering, it's even more sobering to learn that for every death by suicide there are 25 attempts. Yet such statistics do not even begin to reveal the oceans of despair behind them.

~ NEXT ~ 

[ Who's At Risk? ]

給亞燕的信 [中國國慶之香港煙花夜2009]

Dearest 亞燕, 

 今早收到妳的短訊, 本想打給妳, 但在看中國國慶在香港放煙花表演, 在電視看, 香港的而且確真的很美麗啊!! 

 那一刻心裡只有一個想法, 現在可以在香港就好了. 

 霎時衝動而已. 連做夢都未想過我會搬得倒回香港來. 唔知呢! 或許總有這一天吧! 不知道你們出外看煙花還是留在家中看電視. 當我在看的時候, 心裡很澎湃, 在那一刻心中充滿着 [ 明天會更好, 每個明天都更好 ], 心裡起着一種莫名的生機, 但很可惜, 當節目完了, 跟放煙花一樣, 放完便煙消雲散... 我又再次跌落谷底, 

 為免夜長夢多, 馬上收拾心情, 趕緊搵嘢做... [ 洗地毡 ], 

 哈哈... 邊洗地毡邊洗衫, 啲嗒,啲嗒的, 時間過得真快, 就要去接放學了...  

 唔知要等到何時再可和妳慢條施里地逛逛街, 喝喝茶, 吹吹水等仔仔放工一起 dinner?!?!  

 又自己在哈哈大笑了, 話咁易咩! anyway, 來日方長... 有機有機, 好了, 又要收筆了, well.... 唔知點收筆.... byebye.. take care.. miss you.. 

Love Sis,

~ Sophine

你是我一生的好朋友

在阿拉伯流行著這樣一個傳說：
兩個朋友一起到沙漠旅行，有一次，在旅途中他們吵架了
一個還打了另外一個一記耳光。

被打的覺得受辱，一言不語，在沙子上寫下：
“今天我的好朋友打了我一巴掌。”

他們繼續往前走，一直到了沃野，他們就決定停下。
被打巴掌的那位差點淹死，幸好被朋友救起來了。
被救起後，拿了一把小劍在石頭上刻下：“今天我的好朋友救了我一命。”

好奇的朋友問：“為什麼我打了你以後，你要記在沙子上，而現在要刻在石頭上呢？”

另一個笑著回答說：“當被一個朋友傷害時，要寫在易忘記的地方，風會負責抹去它；相反，如果被幫助，我們要把它刻在心裡的深處，那裡任何風都不能抹滅它。”

朋友的相處　傷害往往是無心的　幫助卻是真心的
忘記那些無心的傷害　銘記那些對你的幫助
你會發現　這世上你有很多真心的朋友

真正的愛

5歲的時候，我說我愛你,
你歪著腦袋，眨著水晶般的大眼睛，
疑惑地問我："什麼意思？"

15歲的時候，我說我愛你，
你的臉紅得像火燒，頭深深地低著，
擺弄著衣襟，你好像在笑。

20歲的時候，我說我愛你，
你把頭靠在我的肩上，緊緊地挽住我的手臂，
像是下一秒我就要消失一樣。

25歲的時候，我說我愛你，
你把早餐放在桌上，跑過來刮了一下我的鼻子說:
"知道了！懶蟲，該起床了!"

30歲的時候，我說我愛你，
你笑著說："你呀！要是真的愛我，就別下了班到處跑，
還有，別再忘了我叫你買的菜!"

40歲的時候，我說我愛你，
你邊收拾碗筷邊無表情的嘟囔著：
"行了，行了，快去給孩子復習功課去吧！"

50歲的時候，我說我愛你，
你打著毛活頭也不抬："真的？
你心里是不是巴不得我早點兒死掉。"
然後就咯咯咯地笑個不停。

60歲的時候，我說我愛你，
你笑著捶了我一拳：
"死老頭子！孫子都這麼大了，還貪嘴!"

70歲的時候，我們坐在搖椅上，戴著老花鏡，
欣賞著50年前我給你的情書，
我們已經褶皺的手又握在了一起，
那時侯我說我愛你，
你深情地望著我，
其實你那已經皺紋對壘的臉仍是那麼美麗......
爐子上的開水咕嘟咕嘟地冒煙,
溫馨的暖意充滿了整個屋子........ ......

80歲的時候，你說你愛我.
我什麼也沒說，因為我流淚了，

但是那是我人生最最快樂的日子，
因為你終于說出了那句 "我--愛--你"。
聰明的人，喜歡猜心；
雖然每次都猜對了，卻失去了自己的心
傻氣的人，喜歡給心；
雖然每次都被笑了，卻得到了別人的心
愛到如此才知深∼要回頭已遲∼
只有∼望天際∼斷腸人在天涯!

請珍惜每一天...
每天都是一個珍貴的紀念日

BunBun & Gizmo

BunBun & Gizmo

~ Gizmo ~

Birthday March 08, 2009

Who Are You?

Who are you? 

Where do you come from?

What's your last name? 

What's your favorite hobbie?

What's your favorite song?

Who's your idol?

Who inspires you on a daily basis?

Who do you love?

What is your deepest secret?

What is your strongest desire?

Who or what do you hate with a passion?

How did you become the person you are today?

Are you brave?

Are you strong?

Are you kind and forgiving?

Or are you hateful and selfish with your feelings?

Are you in touch with your inner self?

Have you ever looked to your guiding spirit for moral support?

Do you believe in god?

Is your soul pure?

Is your soul tattered and broken?

When is the last time you cried your heart out?

And for what?

What season fits you the best?

Spring?

Summer?

Fall?

Winter?

Which element suits you the best?

Earth?

Fire?

Water?

Air?

Or is it Spirit?

Do you believe in magic?

Or do you believe that all worth believeing in is dead?

Are you sad?

I mean truely sad.

Would you give your life for a child you don't even know?

Are you slowly dying from the inside?

Or are you blissful and happy every waking moment?

Has life treated you well?

Do people love you?

Do you love them back?

Are you angry at the world?

Does everything seem loathsome to you?

Why? 

Do you consiter yourself a good person?

Can you help someone mentally in need?

Can you help someone physically in need?

Do you give up easily?

Do you feel like it's just not worth it?

When you are passionate about something, is that something truely important?

Will it help someone?

What are you?

When you look in the mirror, what do you see?

Are you beautiful/handsome?

Of course you are, but do you feel that way?

Or do you feel ugly?

Unimportant?

Worthless?

Well you are not.

Who has made you feel this way?

Have you ever made someone feel that way?

Do you consiter yourself a good person?

Everyone is important.

Beautiful.

Unique.

Special.

Everyone has a heart that beats.

They also have a heart that breaks.

Be more open to the feelings of others, make sure they are aware of your feelings.

Always be calm, and don't put others down.

Accept everyone, no matter what their age, race, religion, intrests/ambitions, and personal opinions.

Be gentle towards those who are more fragile than you.

Animals. 

Children.

Emos.

Blessed be.

And not all those who wander are lost.