In the wake of the tragic events of a fellow actor and beloved artist (in what appears to be) taking his own life, at the behest of a lethal addiction- I watch the reaction of the world around me; I read in the status's of peers, expressing sadness and remorse for the loss of such a bright life. But in doing so, I also see something else- Many of those commenting on the tragic events seem to think the reason for this loss of life was because of the individuals fame, career and a life of being known by many and the pressures that came with that. At first glance, I mentally okay the logic and scroll on, but then I feel a catch in my mind.
It suddenly occurs to me... How many overdoses are there every year we will never hear about because the individuals involved are not famous, well known, or in blockbuster movies- But each having just as much or more "pressure" in there family, personal, or professional life as any celebrity we know?
After coming upon this realization, I am forced to maybe think that maybe the tragic events of us humans losing the fight to addictions, or even taking our own lives; fall upon something so much more serious than a job description.
While I don't pretend to know all the factors that played a part in these tragic events that happened over this past weekend. What I can speak to are the relationships around me and the tragedies I have witnessed first hand in lives of those whom I love and loved. I think it so often comes down to simply this. We live in a broken world, and no matter what this world tries to promise us this world does not fill the void we forever long for. No matter the amount of money, fame, respect (all the things we think would satisfy us) we were made for something else, that until we realize, we cannot find peace.
Someone once said
“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”
Another wise person noted "There is a God shaped hole in all our hearts." The poor and the rich... The famous and the unknown.
We will never know what we were created for until we know who we were created by. We can never fill the void we feel in the depths of our souls until we invite the one who created them, in.
