Sometimes our minds are like a deep, dark forest. Many areas seem inaccessible to us. Many things and memories are hidden somewhere, often guarded by wild creatures or with trees growing upon them. Sometimes we can explore and shed some light on this forest at night in our dreams. Entering the forest awake during the day takes a lot of strength and courage. Because it is easy to get lost in this forest, lonely and without an obvious way out. Or as Marc Proust said, "Your soul is a dark forest. But the trees are of a particular species, they are genealogical trees".

I too have often been lost in my forest, especially in my childhood and youth. Loneliness and fears were frequent companions. It often took a lot of strength to endure both of them. Sometimes a familiar voice helped me to find a way out of the forest again, sometimes I could gather the strength to look for a way on my own. Often I didn’t know how I found my way out, only that I did it. Today I still see the scars and wounds from that time, but I also see what inner strength I have gained on my way. Unfortunately, there are many people who also got lost in their forest and who have no inner strength or familiar voice to help them out. So they get lost deeper and deeper in the forest, lonely, powerless and about to give up.

Often the way out is still so close, but they can only see trees in front of them. They just need someone who is there to guide them around the trees and give them strength along the way. Therefore my request, be attentive and be a helping voice when you hear someone calling for help. Especially in the superficial social media world, we tend to overhear the whispering sounds because we are too distracted by all the loud and colorful artificial worlds around us. Attention can save lifes, so please listen to the whispers between the lines. 

If you are struggling a lot yourself at this moment, get in touch with people close to you or with the many opportunities to get help, whether in person, online or by phone. Here you can find a list of international help lines, like the Telefonseelsorge in Germany (0800 1110111 or 0800 1110222). You are worth it and your presence matters.

Note: This is a repost of a text i shared in 2018 on Instagram. I think my new blog is a much better place to store my thoughts and stories that I have written down over the last few years.