How To Save A Life
I don’t remember what, but my overwhelm was spilling outwards as anger and a sensible friend told me to go home. Take a break.
Home was a room where the world wouldn’t touch me, but it wasn’t the world I needed to escape. It was my mind.
So I – who have never found religion but always find peace in a churchyard – was drawn to a bench outside the little Round Church. I sat there for ages and cried. Anguish gave way to sadness, then relief.
A passerby stopped to ask if I was OK. That day, that church was home.
Extroduction
Today’s story is a true one from my university days. It may be an exaggeration to say those moments saved my life, but it certainly felt that way when I was sitting there, letting the weight fall from my shoulders. I know some people would attribute this to an intervention from a higher power, interpret the passerby as an angel. And perhaps they would be right, but I have my own interpretations and I reserve my right to them.
I visit the Round Church whenever I go to Cambridge and always feel peace there. Sometimes I go inside and marvel at the architecture, the stained glass windows and the quiet inside. Sometimes I just sit on a bench in the churchyard, with all the people who have passed before.
You can read more about the Round Church here: https://roundchurchcambridge.org/
The world is better with you in it, and you deserve to feel that everyday. If you feel overwhelmed, depressed or are struggling with your own or someone else’s addiction, there is help. Contact your local branch of the Samaritans, speak to a doctor or – in an emergency – call 999 / 911 / 112 for help.
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