You can’t understand real joy unless you have experienced real pain.
You can’t find joy without compassion for others.
Tragedy brings with it all kinds of struggles and sadness. But it also presents opportunity and a deeper, more meaningful appreciation of joy.
The secret door is a special gift for those of us who’ve experienced an unimaginable loss or tragedy. It’s wisdom and insight.
It was fuzzy at first and came into focus as the months passed after the loss of my son by suicide. I now see things that I didn’t see before with such beauty and clarity.
The trick to finding the secret door is, quite simply, getting outside your own head. No one can do that 100% of the time. But like anything else, the more you practice it, the better you get at it.
As horrible as the loss of Charles has been, the joy of finding this special gift has given my life new meaning.
Hopes and Dreams
Published by
Anne Moss Rogers
I am an emotionally naked mental health speaker, and author of the Book, Diary of a Broken Mind and co-author with Kim O'Brien PhD, LICSW of Emotionally Naked: A Teacher's Guide to Preventing Suicide and Recognizing Students at Risk. I raised two boys, Richard and Charles, and lost my younger son, Charles to addiction and suicide on June 5, 2015. I help people foster a culture of connection to prevent suicide, reduce substance misuse and find life after loss. My motivational mental health keynotes, training and workshop topics include suicide prevention, addiction, mental illness, anxiety, coping strategies/resilience, and grief.
As talented and funny as Charles was, letting other people know they matter was his greatest gift. And now the legacy I try and carry forward in my son's memory.
Mental Health Speakers Website. Trained in ASIST and trainer for the evidence-based 4-hour training for everyone called safeTALK.
View all posts by Anne Moss Rogers
Anne this is so true! Glad you can find some light in the darkness you have felt after losing Charles. But it’s so hard sometimes! Hugs!
so true to get outside our own heads- but yet so so hard-
Merry Christmas to my brave courageous compassionate friend…