You are Not Alone By Ryan Freeman-Burchfield

A large part of my work is helping people to conquer anxiety and panic possibly from PTSD or any other trauma, we all have it in some large or small form. I think one of the hardest symptoms of this problem to cope with is when the inside of your body holds so much anxiety […]

 

Ryan

A large part of my work is helping people to conquer anxiety and panic possibly from PTSD or any other trauma, we all have it in some large or small form. I think one of the hardest symptoms of this problem to cope with is when the inside of your body holds so much anxiety that it is telling you every second of the day that you are dying and so your body literally responds with physical symptoms that only reinforce that fear; here is my letter to anyone in that struggle:
To my Dearest,
The dying part of living is just that, we are dying… Living to die, dying to live. These thoughts I have pondered on for many years. Our brains are selfish organisms obsessed with finding ways to survive. We are all doing both at the same time. We are fully living and we are fully dying. My request is that we may accept that it is all fleeting and take our wonderment with it and then perhaps push it outside of our selfish obsessed brains to see the trees, feel the wind, the dirt, taste the changing and listen sweetly to the birds… They too are all living and dying. We are not alone in this. May we let go of the need to control our life and our death for just a moment here and there. I want to let it all go and fall into the earth and let it become me. I want to believe there is good and there is purpose. I want to believe there is good to be done even if today is to be my last day on this earth. I truly feel I have very little control of when my last day will actually be… I hope of course it’s not today, but if it is, my living and dying wish would be that today you find the living in some small way and let the dying be one for the gods to obsess on. Live by putting your face on the face of your baby, your friend, your sibling, your partner, your dog, the window, the water, or place your hand in the hand of another. Live by touching the wood grain and seeing the amazing designs only your mind can see and then bring them out for us all. Live by looking in the mirror and liking or may I go so far as to say even loving the human looking back at you. You are a good and strong human walking through heaven and hell. Keep walking… There is art and hope in it all. I know you have gifts and purpose…  and you are alive now to live, dying takes no effort and it will come, let it be. Live for one second today somehow… If not for you, then for me.
You are not alone, and I will live and die along with you…
with all my heart,
Ryan Elizabeth Freeman-Burchfield