A lot of people, including me, have come across the organization because of the wide-spread TWLOHA Day, which the organization didn't actually start but someone else did and it has spread like wildfire for a few years now. There is no *official* TWLOHA day because of this, but often the supposed day is in November. This year a popular date on facebook and on other parts of the web is November 13th. (The fact of that coming up is partly why I was inspired to write this post.) On this day people are encouraged to write love or draw a heart on their arms to promote awareness for depression, self-harm, and suicide; as well as to show support for all those fighting those silent battles with hope that they seek help or tell their friends or anyone and hope that they realize there's more to life than their desire to self-harm or their depression.
TWLOHA's website is rich with facts, inspiration, stories of hope, ways to get help, ways to help those around you that are suffering from these or to help yourself, words of encouragement, etc... Basically, they're doing wonderful work. Also, basically, they say and do all the things that you wish you could do or say but can't or don't really know how. I see and have seen their work and visions of hope in many friends, acquaintances, and family members.
One of their campaigns is called "Fear Vs. Dreams" and it invites people to answer those two questions and share their fear with their dream, because everyone has fears, and most have dreams. Their about section pretty much sums it up:
"You’re invited to answer two questions, to add your words to the mix and to feel less alone in reading the words of others.
Our aim is more than a moment at a tent.
We hope to remind you that you’re living a story.
The story is yours and it’s entirely unique.
Please don’t give up and please don’t go alone.
You matter very much."
That one resonates especially well with me (and many others). There was (and is still a time, when it sneaks up on me especially hard) a time when my life and subconscious seemed to be ruled by 'can't(s)', or 'fears'. The fear of failing. The improbability of success. There are many others with me but this is a main one that never truly seems to leave:
Fear: Of failing, of never achieving my goals.
I had to realize, and it was hard, that without believing in my dreams and what I wanted to achieve, then that fear could come to reality. I had to realize that hope was better and working for my goals and ignoring that fear was better than spending time thinking about all the ways I could fail. I have to realize this again every time, because that's one of those fears that's been a fear since I was young enough that I shouldn't have had a fear like that. (Basically, I've always been the ambitious-over-achieving-type, in varying degrees. So are many of my friends. There's nothing wrong with that. Rawr.)
So with that, I leave you with the dream for that fear, the one that needs to win out:
Dream: Of success, of getting what I want in life. Of being an editor or a journalist or an author or all of the above or whatever.
Dream (x2): of believing that ^, and realizing that all I can do is work (and work hard!) to get there and that it does no good having that fear-- even if it lurks in the back of my mind most of the time.
Anyway, I encourage you to check out more about TWLOHA and read their story because even if you've never dealt with something like this personally or anyone else that has, it's inspiring. Also, do participate in the (albeit unofficial) TWLOHA day. Thanks for reading this post!
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