Posted on by Paurian

The Junkie

It was a culmination of bad days. My best friend died a few months before. My band instrument was stolen because someone tried to pull a prank on me and the band director did nothing about it. I had been beaten up so hard at my locker that I had to go to the infirmary and subsequently, go home early. I told my dad that I was ready to “end it all”.

Many people have been there. Maybe even you. When people under a $150k salary were asked what they value in a job, it wasn’t that they did work with meaning. It was a stable income and dignity. People are even willing to take a lower paying job if it gives them more dignity and time with family. (*Roy Bahat).

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please get help.
Call 1-800-273-8255 – the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

My dad came in my room. After a series of questions and a typical lecture that went nowhere, he turned around and saw a poster of a cartoon alley cat near a dumpster with the words emblazoned “I’m Okay, God Doesn’t Make Junk”. My dad ordered me to recite it over and over again.

I hated that poster. I always did. I had ordered a different poster through a mail-order catalogue (it was the 80’s) and they sent me the wrong one. I had put the poster on the wall as a reminder that the forces of the universe were against me.

I'm okay! God doesn't make junk! Click To Tweet

But the words on that poster is the message I carry with me in life. We are not junk, nor should we allow ourselves to be treated as such – especially from our inner thoughts. And the universe isn’t against you. There is no chance, but there is fate. There are no odds to beat, but life is a gamble. We make bad decisions, but our lives are not a bad decision. We hurt those we love, but that doesn’t make us unloveable.

When you feel disparaged – when it seems that life is out to get you. Recite out loud, because it’s true: “I’m Okay, God Doesn’t Make Junk.” You have worth. You just don’t feel it at the moment.

This article is from the “Raw Talk on Failure” series.

Photo by Fábio Scaletta on Unsplash