Years ago a fine popular vocalist came out with a song with that title. Many were shocked at really seemed to be a prelude for suicide. Peggy Lee did not commit suicide, but the song still lingers on and some thought might be given to the question it gives...
I can remember as an assistant a call coming in about 5:30 one Sunday morning. We talked about an hour or so until she realized that killing herself was not going to solve her problem, only give her problem to some one else. I can not remember what the problem was but she was planning to do away with herself.
We have numerous people of high profile that within the last few years have ended life. Why, you might ask, would people something like that? Probably Peggy Lee had the answer as far as many people are concerned – for them their life, their life goals, their relationships - all those things most of us hold sacred, have finally meant nothing to the person contemplating suicide Is that all there is – and they don’t mean much to a person, why put up with it? That’s all there is!
Ah yes, that is all there is if you are the center of everything and things go sour. You have no backup, even though you might be a mega millionaire, have the best voice or looks in the world. Once you realize that that is really not much you give up and despair of ever being happy or the center of the universe again. You can see, as a God fearing person, how absurd this though is.
When we really look at the problem, if you are a God fearing person, you can realize that the equation for happiness is missing one of the major ingredients – God. You can have everything on earth but that means nothing to you if you do not have God, and that is where the problem is.
We have adopted a materialistic culture which can only think about things we can touch or see. No wonder if all our material things like wealth, good, sex and looks disappear we have nothing left.
In dealing with depression and despair we might keep in mind that main ingredient and see where that is in the life of the person we are praying and working with. If He is not there, then maybe start in the beginning in talking about God and see where we might get the person to think more abut Him than about the really unnecessary things we worry about.
One more thought. There are people whom you will meet that really have physical problems beyond talking. Please pray for them that the Blessed mother will be with them in their time of need.
© Fr L ouis Schlangen 2014