Whether the white powdery substance found in the pocket of the Mega Church Pastor who recently passed away under mysterious circumstances was actually cocaine as speculated or not, it caused me to think about how we as sensible human beings who are supposed to have common sense do not take time to seek help for the intimate personal struggles with our various addictions that usually come out in the open at the time of our physical departure from this earth.
The thought of that frightens me in a sense because when you really look at it, it must have been a terrible burden to carry in that Pastor’s heart to have outwardly lived a righteous life yet still be trapped into a cycle of addiction that was diametrically opposed to his self professed righteous style of living in the public eye.
Now do know that what I am saying about our deceased Pastor is mere speculation as I was not present at the time of his passing nor do I know what that white powdery substance was as for all I know it could have been some BC powder or some type of medicine.
But the point of me starting of this article is not to speak on the actual circumstances of this man’s passing but to look into a deeper issue that I have noticed with many of us have when it comes to dealing with our personal addictions, demons and lusts.
Why is it that we work so hard to fit the description of what the world considers “normal” yet we have our own hidden neglected issues that fester below the surface unattended. These issues have no choice but to build up like a pressure cooker until it explodes all over the place in one big unexplainable mess?
It seems to be something to be frowned upon in the Black community when the subject of getting professional help is put on the table. So we grin and bear it not knowing that in the end we are doing ourselves a very terrible disservice.
This is why so many of the downtrodden (All races, not just Blacks!) in modern society statistically drop dead so much faster than those who have a healthy attitude toward reaching out to others either professionally or by maintaining a solid support system.
We have to realize that we are all human and we all have issues to be dealt with. Since we’re all individuals we have to understand that we will all deal with personal stresses in as many different ways. Some will crumble into pieces at the slightest hint of the tough times ahead and others can withstand immeasurable stress over long periods of time while remaining outwardly jovial never giving any indication of the turmoil that swirls heavily in their lives and around their heads.
But no matter where you fall in the scope of pain management, you must know that it is just not a good thing to hold your stresses internally without sharing your pain with someone who cares.
Where do we get this behavior from? What is the origin of our method of dealing with our inner calamities in this manner?
Why can’t we understand that when we refrain from speaking out what we feel on the inside that it causes us to usually self medicate with some type of destructive behavior that will only compound the initial pain that drove us to that negative behavior in the first place?
And anyone who has a deeper understanding of the human experience will see it for what it really is…….a cry for help!
We all have our ways of crying for help, but the sad thing is that a cry for help not tended to in a swift manner these days can have deadly results. So it’s a must that we act as our Brother’s (And Sister’s!) keeper. If you see someone acting out of character please do not take it lightly, be observant and never exacerbate the situation by any intense questioning of the individual that may stir them up into an even higher fervor than they already are. Become a peaceful energy for them. Be the understanding one for them and even if you do not fully understand exactly where they are coming from then just let them vent and “act” as though you understand even if you are not in full agreement with something that they may have done. Their need to release their tensions at that moment is more important than your need to know all of the details. Never forget this.
So many tragic endings could have been thwarted if the person who is distressed felt as though they had someone to whom they could reach out to. But in this day and age if social media and even more antisocial behavior, all we have become to each other is nothing more than the sum total of our Facebook profile page. Isn’t that sad? That with so many ways to reach out and touch each other we have more loneliness, broken hearts and suicides than ever before? It’s a tale of irony that even the great William Shakespeare HIMSELF could have ever conjured up in that dynamic brain of his.
Even the smallest gestures of kindness to a loved one or a stranger can halt the next tragic school shooting or a crime of passion. The human psyche is such a delicate piece of machinery. Like a powerful sports car that won’t perform correctly if all systems are off ever so slightly, the mind and heart of a human being in distress will always exude extreme dysfunction when not in proper working order due to real or perceived stress.
Let us get back to caring for each other and allowing the comforting light of God to shine through us and all of our actions, we have gotten away from this and the world we live in is showing us the results of the absence of God in everything that we do! Too many of us are in pain and are paralyzed by a false pride that keeps us from reaching out to others when we KNOW that we are in pain so it is up to us to show that divine love when we detect that something is just not right.
Our caring and loving heart is the perfect antidote to proactively fill those gaps that those ever lurking destructive addictions would be oh so glad to populate!
Remember, those soul draining addictions cannot survive in the presence of God’s life giving, healing and nurturing love!
Love is the soothing balm that banishes the hidden pains that dwell beneath the surface in a hurting heart…….
