Virginia Is For Families

There’s a news report on television about Heath Ledger. He was very much in love with someone named Michelle. They had a little girl whose name is Matilda. They had fame, wealth and good fortune.

But, unfortunately, Heath used drugs and he could not sleep. Possibly he was depressed. I don’t know. But I do know that inability to sleep and depression are partners in a very sad play.

And I know that it is a good idea to deal with the depression. Don’t just force yourself to sleep with some concoction of sleep inducing drugs. Because sometimes all those drugs can make the depression worse. And then you need more of them in order to sleep.

Do you see where this is leading?

I had no idea who this young man was when he died. But tonight as I sit here next to a television it seems like he was beloved by many others who admired his work. Shame on the media for turning this into the latest media buzzfest.

Family and friends mourn a young man’s death. A child has no father. A lover mourns.

Death by chemicals. Sometimes you can’t reach people who have “Everything”. You can’t share some simple advice with them. Everything is too easy for them. Even dying. Are you listening to anyone Britney? Could this be Your wakeup call?

I think Mr. Ledger was a very imaginative guy. And using his imagination won him a lot of praise, popularity and wealth in a short period of time. Maybe he started living in an imaginary world at some point. Drugs can help one do that. I imagine it would be pretty easy to “pass over” without even noticing under such circumstances. Especially if you did not want to deal with painful realities.

But there are no easy ways out. Listen to Sylvia Browne or Paramahansa Yogananda. There are no easy exits from our problems. There are just more doors.

I prefer the door I know to the one that leads to a big surprise. And I also believe in medication that helps us deal with our problems instead of avoiding them.

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