A heart-breaking, tragic story from the
Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Man jumped from Atlanta high-rise because he failed test
22-year-old was also upset he wasn't as smart as boyfriend
By MIKE MORRIS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 05/09/08
A 22-year-old Atlanta man, distraught over not passing a high school equivalency test, committed suicide late Friday morning by jumping from the balcony of an 11th-floor apartment in Midtown, police said.
The man, whose name was not made public Friday afternoon, had also been upset because he believed his boyfriend was more intelligent than he, Atlanta police Lt. Keith Meadows said.
The man and his boyfriend were talking in the apartment they shared in the Plaza Midtown condominium building when the man got a strange look on his face, walked onto the balcony and jumped, Meadows said.
He landed on the sidewalk in front of a restaurant in the building, which is in on West Peachtree Street north of 8th Street.
The man had been living in the condo with his boyfriend since shortly after moving from Mexico in December, authorities said.
On so many levels, this is a horrifying news item, but it is more personal because we lived in the Plaza Midtown, on the 10th-floor, one floor down and one unit over from the condo this man, this boy, lived in. I don't remember knowing him by name, but we would have recognized his face and shared an elevator on occasion. We could see their balcony on angle from our balcony.
22 years old. I just wish someone could have told him -- that I or anybody else in that building or in his life could have reached out and let him know what took me years and years to understand in the midst of dark blue desperation and black depression:
This too, will pass.
I rely on this thought quite often, for reassurance and strength, particularly in difficult times. I was reminded of this concept, or mantra, this week in Chapter 8 of Eckhart Tolle's
A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose (pages 223-224):
"According to an ancient Sufi story, there lived a king in some Middle Eastern land who was continuously torn between happiness and despondency. The slightest thing would cause him great upset or provoke an intense reaction, and his happiness would quickly turn into disappointment and despair. A time came when the king finally got tired of himself and of life, and he began to seek a way out. He sent for a wise man who lived in his kingdom and who was reputed to be enlightened. When the wise man came, the king said to him: "I want to be like you. Can you give me something that will bring balance, serenity, and wisdom into my life? I will pay any price you ask."
"This wise man said, "I may be able to help you. But the price is so great that your entire kingdom would not be sufficient payment for it. Therefore it will be a gift to you if you will honor it." The king gave him his assurances, and the wise man left.
"A few weeks later, he returned and handed the king an ornate box carved in jade. The king opened the box and found a simple gold ring inside. Some letters were inscribed on the ring. The inscription read: This too, will pass. "What is the meaning of this?" asked the king. The wise man said, "Wear this ring always. Whatever happens, before you call it good or bad, touch this ring and read the inscription. That way, you will always be at peace."
The chapter and explanation/illustration continue, but that's the point: This too, will pass. This is what we need to teach our children, to share with troubled friends and to broadcast in the world: This too, will pass.
I wish I could explain it as well as Eckhart Tolle does, but for more, you should read
A New Earth. Powerful stuff. Powerful enough to save a life.
My heart and thoughts go out to Ricardo's friends and family, and to our friends and community at the Plaza Midtown.