21 “Flow to where the soul knows” Sonia

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I was doing some reading at work today. There are days when I can read information and it simply filters in and out. Today I came across a statistic that has sat with me for most of the day. It read that 58% of people that complete suicide do not have a mental illness. Suicide awareness and prevention is an area of my life that I am passionate about personally and professionally. Some days it feels like there is so much to do on such a great scale. There was dialogue that took place and I must admit I felt defeated and tired by this national crisis that we are all facing. I got home and this statistic still stirred through my mind. These are the days when I find that writing is most important. If I walk around feeling defeated the energy that I carry will reflect this. I may as well quit.

What this statistic also tells me is that there are so many people that are suffering in silence. I have worked in the area of mental health for the last three or so years. I have also had a history of mental illness so this has been the area in which my attention has been directed. I was jolted to a different place today and really felt that there is so much more to do in this space. People complete their lives for so many reasons. The reasons are far and few between and I am by no means a health professional or expert in this field. However what I do know is that there is a lack of connection, resilience and hope when an individual feels that this is the only answer.

I don’t have the answers nor do I profess to know them. What I do know is that we all have a personal responsibility not only to ourselves but to each other. Self-love and worth is still an area that is overlooked. Instead we tend to focus on the “stuff” that in the end doesn’t matter. Basic community and humanity seems to get lost along the way. The statistics tell us that as a country this is a crisis, so clearly something isn’t working.

It saddens my heart to know that there are so many individuals that have felt that suicide is the answer. I know this feeling all too well and feel so passionate about making a difference and creating change. It all starts within us. It is in our everyday actions and the way we treat each other. It is our responsibility towards one another and where loyalty and respect is paramount. It is a knowing that every action has a reaction so it is our own choice on where we choose to direct this energy. No I physically can’t stop someone from suicide and it is not my job to save anyone. Instead what I can do is change the way I look at things. I especially love the quote which I have commented on so many times before. The late Dr Wayne Dwyer states “when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change” How are you choosing to see the world? Flow to where the soul knows. Blessed be and so it is.

With a sprinkle fo fiary dust and may magic follow your day.

HUGE LOVE

Sonia

xoxoxoox

9. Everyone Matters.

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I have woken really early this morning and can’t help but think about the murder of a 13 month old girl. Two separate friends told me about it yesterday and I just wasn’t ready to hear it. It is literally down the road and clearly has had some affect if it is want I am thinking about at 5:00am in the morning.  When a mother decides to take the life of their own child there has to be something seriously wrong. I had a read about what had occurred and the mother was taken to a local police station where she was not able to be interviewed due to her psychiatric illness. The devastation fell upon my heart as I guessed that this is what may have happened. So much sadness not only for the precious cherub that was murdered by her own mother but for a woman who was so unwell that this is what she succumbed to.

Yesterday morning I woke up to read the final chapters of my book. It was predominantly about my cousin Cathy who took her own life over 2 years ago. I still can’t comprehend at times that she has gone and that this was her fate that took place. It is in fact very true and still quite raw. I try really hard not focus on the heaviness that surrounds this situation, rather it allows me to be more determined to create change, to do more and to absolutely finish the final moments of my book about suicide awareness and prevention. Every 3 hours somebody in Australia chooses to take their own life. So by the time you have woken up for the day at least 2 or 3 people would have died. Not sure about you but this statistic creates heaviness beyond what I can describe but a surge of determination to do more.

My own experience and history of mental health ultimately has led me to this one precious life that I am now leading. I am beyond grateful for the resilience, strength and courage that it has taught me.  So how does all this connect to a woman in Reservoir that murdered her 13 month old? For me the questions furiously circled my mind. How did this go unnoticed? What happened to her? Why was she driven to do what she did? She just didn’t wake up one morning and decide to kill her child? From what I have read there had also been 13 accounts of reported domestic violence. (Who know if this is true?) It doesn’t matter because it is all a story and drama. Let’s get to the core of humanity and why she couldn’t reach out before she got to that point? Why my cousin Cathy who has an extended family of 70+ people but still felt that this was her only choice. These are the issues that are important to me and one that we all have a moral obligation to create a world that is safe. It is not OK that the life of this child is no longer but it feels worse not do anything about it. Everyone matters. Blessed be and so it is. So it is done.

 

With a sprinkle of fairy dust and may magic follow your day

HUGE LOVE

Sonia Muraca

xoxoxo

8. When you judge others, you do not define them, you define yourself.

11891009_741451075966461_8994629356509500673_n   Last night my family and I celebrated our cousin Cathy who took her own life over 12 months ago. It was a bitter sweet evening that saw over 100 people attend a fundraising event to support suicide awareness. Suicide prevention and awareness is something that I am very passionate about. It is not only because of my cousin, nonno and the countless others that have taken their lives, but also because I know all too well about my own struggle with suicidal ideation in the past. I was afraid of judgement and there was so much shame and stigma attached. The harsh reality is that judgement has existed in one way or another. For me I am proud of this part of my journey it has truly allowed me to know and understand life to a level that I never knew. I have heard so many comments about suicide and as the affirmation presents it is not about judgment on any part. Nobody will ever know what it feels to live in another person’s mind or body and therefore we do not have the right to judge. Yes the effects are devastating but for me personally what I find more excruciating is that another human has had to suffer so much that they feel that this is the only way to end their pain. I can understand this feeling as I know how very close I came to it. The thought of dying felt so much more peaceful than living.  So although it may be easy to “judge” another because they have left their family and friends with so much heartbreak and sadness, it is also important to remember that by judgement we are only defining who we are. To an extent there is free will in suicide but there is also a mind that is distorted beyond a realm of comprehension. I could write about this topic endlessly, there is so much to say and so much to do. The statistics are ridiculously high and in a world where we live with so much technological connection our connectedness to humanity and each other seems to be diminishing. There is so much judgement that is associated around the topic of suicide and this is something that needs to change. The stigma needs to be removed and the topic of how we feel should be open for discussion. Why is it that we find it so easy to celebrate and discuss our perceived successes yet there is difficulty to find strength in our vulnerability? We certainly can’t change about what could have been and this is possibly one of the toughest lessons to endure. Judgement for self creeps in but has no avail. Our past can only teach us the beauty of lessons that take us into the present moment of life and all that it has to offer.  As much as the lessons are painful and filled with so many unanswered questions what we do know is that we can create the path and peace if we choose. We can connect to create change. When you judge others, you do not define them, you define yourself. Namaste. With a sprinkle of fairy dust and may magic follow your day, HUGE LOVE Sonia xoxoxoxo