{"id":5689,"date":"2019-07-20T00:00:37","date_gmt":"2019-07-20T08:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.atumvirt.com\/?p=5689"},"modified":"2019-07-20T00:00:37","modified_gmt":"2019-07-20T08:00:37","slug":"who-cares-if-one-more-light-goes-out-well-i-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/avtempwp.azurewebsites.net\/2019\/07\/who-cares-if-one-more-light-goes-out-well-i-do\/","title":{"rendered":"Who cares if one more light goes out? … Well, I do."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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While I realize there has been quite a bit of non-technical posts as of late, I wanted to continue to share things that mean a lot to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two years ago I was hit with news that shook me to my core. I was not aware that I could be affected in that way – it was a profound sense of loss, sadness, and despair at the news that\u00a0 Chester Bennington of Linkin Park had taken his own life.\u00a0 On the surface, one might ask why I would describe it in such drastic terms.\u00a0 It is not as if he was a close friend, or that I had even known him as a casual acquaintance.\u00a0 But in the weeks and months that followed I went through a particularly dark time emotionally, often feeling physically ill, at times being near throwing up at the pain and hurt with the torrent of emotion that I was feeling. Why and how could and should this strangers passing, sad as it may be, affect me so?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I reflected several days after Chester\u2019s death and thought back to a friend of mine who was deeply saddened at the news of the death of David Bowe in January 2016.\u00a0 At the time I had no context to understand what he was feeling, and I made light of the impact it had on them.\u00a0 When Chester passed, I was remorseful, guilty and embarrassed that I had not recognized and offered empathy to them or even to try to understand their situation.\u00a0 When that feeling of loss had come over me to the point where I was physical ill, I could not totally comprehend why at the time.\u00a0 As the days passed, it gradually became easier as I began reading about the experiences of others who had the same emotions.\u00a0 I found a connection in a community of people, who despite having not known Chester, were impacted in their lives through the connection that music brings \u2013 a connection that may not ever be fully explained to those who had the experience of such a connection in their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my case, it began when I started listening to Linkin Park\u2019s music in the year 2000 when \u201cOne Step Closer\u201d hit the radio.\u00a0 In October 2000, I remember buying the CD Hybrid Theory \u2013 it was the only music CD that I had ever purchased for myself, all the others had been a gift.\u00a0 From the day the album was released, I listened to the music of Linkin Park daily, often on repeat, for two-three-five-ten\u2026twenty iterations.\u00a0 I had a deep connection with their articulation and expression in the music.\u00a0 As the years progressed, they released more music and the playlist grew. Yet through the years, my daily habits continued.\u00a0 In 2011, my wife and I attended a Linkin Park Concert, which also happened to be the first live concert I had ever attended.\u00a0 It was something I will never forget, and will forever be grateful for the opportunity to have seen them in concert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I continued that pattern of daily listening, for at least 45-60 minutes per day, it seems, for nearly 17 years<\/em><\/strong> until Chester took his own life.\u00a0 Linkin Park and the vocals of Chester Bennington were something that had been apart of my life longer than I just about everything else I had ever known. Longer than my marriage, my career…\u00a0 In a way, it was my escape into something familiar. While I never connected with many people in my day to day life who were anything more than casual fans of their music, I continued to keep their music in my life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout the years Linkin Park grew and used their influence for benefit of those less fortunate.\u00a0\u00a0 I became aware of the band’s efforts in Music For Relief<\/a> after the Haitian earthquake in 2010.\u00a0 I realized that there was a connection to humanitarian efforts the band had been involved with that I was previously unaware, and that they were positively impacting the lives of others around the world. In a world filled with many inescapable tragedies, I was inspired with a renewed sense of hope to see them so generously giving of themselves, their time and using their platform for the good of others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the months following the news of the death of Chester Bennington, there was a deep sadness within me.\u00a0 I felt as though a major part of my life would never be the same.\u00a0 I would never have the chance to go see Linkin Park in\u00a0concert as I had in 2011.\u00a0 More than that, I reflected on what it meant that a man who had a family, at a point of \u201cdoing well for ones self\u201d just having had entered his 40’s with notoriety and a full life ahead had made such a dark and drastic decision to end his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I later learned that Chester was friends with Chris Cornell, who I knew had died by suicide two months prior.\u00a0\u00a0 I struggled to find an understanding of the pain that these two men had in their lives to lead to their ultimate end. It opened my eyes to the very real struggle that so many people of all walks face, and towards an understanding that the issue of mental well being affects people of all walks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wanted to echo the words of Talinda Bennington, Chester\u2019s late wife, spoken at the Hollywood Bowl in October 2017, \u201cIt is time that we recognize that mental health is as important as our physical health.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are able and want to contribute to make a difference, please visit 320 at ChangeDirection.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some have commented saying that they do not want to glorify or celebrate the day of Chester’s death, and for that I agree. But I do believe we can take the opportunity to reflect and remind ourselves to be kind to each other, love each other and offer empathy to others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are struggling, you are not alone. Please seek help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#<\/s>fuckdepression<\/strong><\/a>#<\/s>320ChangesDirection<\/strong><\/a>#<\/s>MakeChesterProud<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While I realize there has been quite a bit of non-technical posts as of late, I wanted to continue to share things that mean a lot to me. Two years ago I was hit with news that shook me to my core. I was not aware that I could be affected in that way – […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[24],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/avtempwp.azurewebsites.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5689"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/avtempwp.azurewebsites.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/avtempwp.azurewebsites.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avtempwp.azurewebsites.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avtempwp.azurewebsites.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5689"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/avtempwp.azurewebsites.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5689\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/avtempwp.azurewebsites.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avtempwp.azurewebsites.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avtempwp.azurewebsites.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}