2007-03-04 ~ 12:53 a.m.

A Pilgrimage

HEY! You guys!!! You want to go on a spiritual journey with me?

No, c'mon, this will be fun.

I have a friend who is in a life crisis right now. She is pretty close to suicide. She's been depressed for as long as I've known her.

Anyway, we have never been particularly close. We just have our own psychoses to deal with, ya know? But we've kinda always been there for each other during major events in a "here's a card and pretty flower, if you need to talk, you certainly can." I'm not sure if we both always meant it, but I do know that I was slightly relieved when she never called me for a SERIOUS talk. But we've hung out a few times.

So, a few days ago she did reveal to me that she has been thinking about suicide more and more. I already knew she has been suicidal in the recent past, I helped do a fund-raiser for suicide awareness for her remember?

For the record, I don't FREAK the fuck out at the talk of suicide like *some* psychotherapists I know. Just because someone wants to take their own life doesn't mean that we can't treat them with dignity. And I certainly know a few things about depression myself, as do every fucking one of you. We had sent a few email to each other talking some REAL heart to heart stuff on the subject.

I got out of work early last night and decided to ask her out for a drink. Cliche, I know. I learned that this woman has absolutely no spiritual guidance at all. Not even one bit. I mean, she was Catholic, and you know what that does to people. She's been non-practicing for a very long time.

I don't even know where to begin. How do you explain death to a child? How do you explain living to an adult?

I have learned that the best way to learn something is to teach it. She seems willing to listen for awhile.

Are you on a spiritual journey? Where do you think you are on the journey? What advice would you impart to someone just starting out?

I've decided to start her on the video "What the Bleep Do We Know". http://whatthebleep.com. I've probably mentioned it before. Whether you believe what the video says or not, there is a very interesting story where the Indian could not see the ships that were on the horizon because he had never seen ships before, he had no frame of reference. That's a very good metaphor for someone starting out on their spiritual journey.

And besides, in her depression she's just going from her bed to her couch, to her bed again. She may as well watch something potentially eye opening, no?

It will be interesting to see what she has to say about the film. Things like this never work out correctly. I always want someone to see or hear a specific part, and they always end up asking me about something else. I think it's part of the process.

And you?

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