NO MOMENTS ARE WORTHLESS
* A COLLABORATION BETWEEN AUNDRE LARROW + TO WRITE LOVE ON HER ARMS *
“800,000 people die by suicide globally each year. That translates to one person every 40 seconds. With this new World Suicide Prevention Day campaign, we want to see those numbers change. We believe it’s possible. We believe it starts with inviting you to consider the things worth living for. What’s your list? What makes life good? What are your reasons to stay alive?” - Jamie Tworkowski
Aundre photographed the folks below while listening to their stories of what brings them peace and keeps them hopeful for the future. His blog post about this collaboration can be read here.
“I think a life worth living includes the realization that the future is dynamic, with a multitude of variables, and so many of those variables are uncontrollable and unpredictable. A life worth living centers joy and centers mental, physical, and spiritual (however you define that) health feeling valued and supported by a community/chosen family that knows your ups and your downs, that you can trust so you are not afraid to be vulnerable and alone. It means balance, it means peace, it means love of self, of others, of the environment, and space to grow.”
—- Mamoudou (@mamoudouaboutnothing)
“Denying when I feel down only enhances the pull, speeds the spiral. What is helpful is to sit with how I feel, allow the feeling a seat at the table, and get to know it and its purpose. Tune into what my inner child is trying to tell me, what they need from me in this moment to feel seen, held, validated, and safe.” — Yael Reich (@yaellily)
“Suicide has dramatically affected my life and my family — my grandmother's suicide when she was in her 30s left a tragic hole in my family, and I lost my little brother to suicide 3 years ago. My grandmother's death taught me to take my own mental health very seriously. My brother's death made me realize that nothing on this earth is as permanent as it seems. Accolades, success, pride...it's important to truly enjoy those feelings in the moment because they will pass. But sadness, grief, loneliness...those feelings too are not definitive or permanent. The negative emotions are just as fleeting as the positive ones. Everything can change in an instant.” —- Janelle (@jnlljns)
“My brother threatened to take his life during a manic episode while I was in college. I wasn't there with him, but my mother was, and rushed him to the hospital. Up until that point I hadn't thought of loss being something so close to home, and it's made me grateful for him being alive right now, but also for everyone else I love.”
— Pollyanna M. (@poriiana)
“One of my best friends tried to commit suicide when she was younger. I would never have known had she never told me. And that's the thing, there are no "signals" at least not in the way media would have us believe (negative emotions, apparent depression, cries for help etc.). It's scary to think that people can be suffering in silence. It's one of the reasons I intentionally ask people "How are you, really?" The world makes it easy to exist on the surface without making room for anything deeper where we might be able to be there for one another and identify when getting help is necessary.” — Darien and Amber (@dlabeach and @reggaedude_fan)
MORE INFO ON SUICIDE PREVENTION CAN BE FOUND HERE.