{"id":1300,"date":"2011-09-07T06:49:20","date_gmt":"2011-09-07T13:49:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.matthewliberty.com\/?p=1300"},"modified":"2011-09-07T06:49:20","modified_gmt":"2011-09-07T13:49:20","slug":"behind-the-smiles-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.threeadventure.com\/matthewliberty\/2011\/09\/07\/behind-the-smiles-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Behind The Smiles…Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

After hearing about the suicide of an online acquaintance, I am reminded of conversations my wife and I have often\u2026along with thoughts I have had.<\/p>\n

This life is short, precious, full of ups and downs\u2026but more importantly, in this life, every single one of us has the power, the ability, and the gift of impacting another human being. There are two things we spend too much time on instead of building true relationships. One is negativity, and the second is our selves. We\u2019d rather talk poorly about people that are \u201cdifferent\u201d than we are and we definitely would rather talk about \u201cME\u201d than focus on someone else.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s sad to me\u2026but trust me, I don\u2019t think everyone can be saved\u2026and I certainly don\u2019t think everyone needs to be saved. I\u2019m also not much of a fan of intruding on \u201clife\u201d and the natural progression of things\u2026but I do know this; if each of us spent more time trying to build real, true, solid relationships with people\u2026this world would be a better place.<\/p>\n

The above mentioned acquaintance had it all\u2026international travel, loved his work, married with children\u2026or, at least on the outside it seemed he had it all. What was going on inside? Did he suffer from depression? Was he going through so much \u201cstuff\u201d that he just couldn\u2019t carry the load anymore?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m going to be honest for a minute, well, I\u2019m always honest\u2026but this is where people start getting uncomfortable. I have been in that boat\u2026the feelings of being overwhelmed, depressed, and so on\u2026I\u2019ve had that thought of ending it all. I didn\u2019t think I had a place, I didn\u2019t think it mattered anymore. I\u2019m happy to say that was ten plus years ago and my life is so drastically different now. More of us have had those feelings than not. People feel ashamed and embarrassed to admit things like this\u2026which is why there is still such a stigma attached to all of this; and many don\u2019t want to burden others with these thoughts.<\/p>\n

It goes back to what I mentioned above and in other posts\u2026we are here on this journey, right now, together\u2026T-O-G-E-T-H-E-R\u2026start acting like it. The only thing that matters at all when you are on your death bed is human relationships and the lives you\u2019ve encountered along this path.<\/p>\n

So, instead of talking crap about your friends or anyone else, lend a hand. Rather than tear down, help build. These are choices we each make individually, to be positive and helpful\u2026or negative and harmful. Your words can make a monumental difference, or no difference at all\u2026but it\u2019s worth the effort. Cultivate your relationships; be a real friend, don\u2019t just play the part. There is, without question, enough negativity in the world\u2026we DO NOT need to add to it.<\/p>\n

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