Speak up, speak out, and change the world!

Happy Tuesday to all my followers! I hope you enjoyed yesterday’s blog post, even though it was a little bit personal. I was told once by one of my critics that one can’t make money at telling their own story, no one buys that. My reply was thank God I’m not selling my story then.  I am merely sharing it in hopes that it may one day help another person. I understand that others out there have experienced worse tragedies than me and I don’t pretend to hide that, but unlike most people, I am willing to share my story. I believe that God gives us all a calling and this is my calling. Just as I have an inner voice that forces me to write, my critic has an inner voice that forces him to criticize what I am doing. We are like the animated characters Ralph E. Wolf and Sam Sheepdog from Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies series of cartoons.  It is just what we do.

As I stated yesterday, I wanted to take a different approach to things this week. I have stated time after time that I can’t stand the word expert and the same goes for someone who is preaching a message but has never lived it. Now I am not saying that everyone who calls themselves an expert is bad or anyone preaching a lesson without living it is a fraud. All I am saying is that I can’t learn from those types of teachers. They can’t reach me.  I need someone who has been tested by time and this is why I try to write on subjects that I have lived. This is why I wrote the Introducing Cecil D. Rowlett blog post.  I want my readers to know everything there is to know about my story. Through my blog, I try to be as transparent as I can. I have lived a happy life and I have lived a life of tragedies, so I know how both of those feel. I have more than once had to force myself to climb out of the deep dark crevasses of tragedy and find the straight and narrow of happiness again. I for one know that is not an easy task.

Some of my long time followers know that in a couple of my darkest hours, I have sought out a suicide solution to my pain and suffering. By the grace of God, I am still here and that is part of the reason that I feel compelled to share my story. While doing research for my nonfiction book, CDRs10 Steps to Happiness, I came across some staggering numbers that I’d like to share with you. The following stats were compiled from the American Association of Suicidology’s website. In 2010, 38,364 Americans died as a result of suicide.  That is 105.1 deaths per day. On an average, 1 person every 13.7 minutes died as a result of suicide. Each year 4,600 young adults ages 15-24, 1 every hour and 54 minutes dies as a result of suicide. Suicide in 2010 was the 10^th leading cause of death for all Americans and 3^rd leading cause for young adults ages 15-24.

The above stats are horrifying in themselves, but the next stat floored me as a human and a father. I still don’t think to this day, I have fully wrapped my head around it and when I hear stories like Hailey’s from yesterday, this stat becomes all too real. In 2010, 274 deaths due to suicide were recorded to ages under 15. I have a daughter who is 9, a son who is 7, and future stepdaughters who are 10 and 11. I cannot fathom losing one of them to anything much less suicide. To those who bully and hate on people, especially kids to the point that they are so miserable that they want to kill themselves, remember they are someone’s whole world as I am sure you are to someone else.

My closing thoughts for us all, 1 life lost due to suicide is 1 life too many and a failure each one of us has a hand in if we stay silent. Speak up, speak out, and change the world!