Why Life Is Worth Living

I was watching the Jim Carey film, The Number 23, earlier on TV.  Not the greatest film, and I still don’t think it’s quite coherent, but I dig it.  One of Carey’s personas—Fingerling, I think—utters the line “I once read that the only philosophical question that matters, is whether or not to commit suicide... I guess that makes me a philosopher.”  That line really stuck out at me.  I like it.  I think it’s a good line.  And in some ways, I think it’s true.  We can ask all the philosophical questions we want: who am I, why are we here, etc. etc.  But if someone is pondering taking a blade to their wrist or a gun to their temple, there is no bigger question.  That question entails, or rather, should entail, every other philosophical question one might ask throughout life.  Suicide, however, is typically an incredibly irrational decision fueled by irrational behaviour.  If a person is contemplating suicide, then they have a very one-track mindset, focusing purely on the negative rather than any of the positive things in life; any lingering on the positive could sway one’s decision.

Some people say they find it hard to imagine that someone could be so downtrodden and beat that they would think about suicide and want to end their life.  I don’t think it’s that it is really that far of a stretch.  I think the thought creeps up on more of us than we would like to admit.  It might be a simple passing thought that more or less goes in one ear and out the other.  Or, we might linger on it, but never really seriously considering it.  It’s one of those “what if” thoughts.  What if I did it?  Who would care?  Would anyone notice?  Who would be the saddest?  That kind of thing.  Just like “What if the sun explodes?” or “What if Koreans start a nuclear war?”  Others think about it more seriously though.  Some go through with it, but others, they find someone to save them.  Those people are fortunate enough to have at least one person out there who cares enough to listen.  Or rather, are rational enough to realize that there is at least one person out there to help them.  I’ve helped more than one kid, and I’ll always be here to help.  There’s always someone to help.  There’s always someone who will be there for you.  Sometimes it’s the person you least expect.  But don’t worry—someone is there for you.  Don’t you ever forget it.

I told someone recently that there are a million ways life could be better and that there are a millions ways life could be worse, too.  I stand by that statement.  I know it is true, very true.  No one has a perfect life, everyone has problems.  I have problems in my life and so do you.  The key is in how you deal with it all.  There are two old adages that I think are true: “Don’t sweat the small stuff, and it’s all small stuff” and “What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger.”  Those are words to live by.  You have to take what you’re given and make it work.  No one is dealt a fair hand; the dealer has pocket aces and you have an off-suit 2 and 10.  They say the house always wins, but that doesn’t mean you should give up trying; you never know when you’ll hit the full house on the flop.  Like life, poker is a game of skill and luck—it’s all about what you do with the cards you’re given.

Life is worth living.  I’ve told that to a lot of people.  And so long as it makes a difference, then it’s never going to be enough times that I’ve said it.  It’s a true statement.  The other person always says they’re not happy.  Life is all about the pursuit of happiness, so if you’re not happy then you have to find it.  That’s what life is—never giving up until we find what makes us happy.  Once you find what makes you happy, then you move on until you find what else makes you happy and keep going until your last day—the one god chose, not you.  It’s a vicious cycle, a never-ending circle.  Happiness comes and goes usually, but it’s always there.  Sometimes you just have to look where you’ve never looked before.  Life gets better, so long as you let it.