Installation and projection from Preparing the Flute, by William Kentridge (2005).

Received an email from a school in California where the 10th grade students were learning about suicide prevention - saying they “loved the Black Dog website” and were using it for researching their project topic.   One of the students suggested adding a useful link on our website that she’d found - so I’ve added it to the links page.   Thank you for sending this through - I’m sure it will be very useful to people visiting Black Dog and congrats on being awarded extra credits I hear, for your find!

Words on the card ….. To overcome adversity, is sometimes the only way to survive.   To fight against the odds and to win is sometimes the only way to get to tomorrow.    So when each new day dawns and you awake to see it, always believe in tomorrow.   That dawn will come.   When the battle is won – when the fight is over.   When the triumph is truly yours…..then each new day can be filled with life.   And remember….where there is life there is always, always Hope.   (Art by Anna Nielsen/card from Mags as we miss our four legged friend, Chelsea).

And postcards from friends with stories of travels – and art (‘Echo of a Scream”, by David Alfaro Siqueiros, 1937 from Museum of Modern Art, New York) …

She arrived with a carpet bag and a dream …

This ink arrived around the  time of making bags to fill with books to gift to young people.   And I do have a thing for the Mary Poppin’s movie/story too.   But I also think, to survive, you have to have a bag of sorts (imaginary or real) to carry with you.  Something to keep filling with things collected along the way that help you get through the tough times and tricky moments.  Serve to map a path forward.  Contain what we’ve achieved so far.  Store things that support us to be strong, independently minded individuals – to survive and create positive changes in our lives.   Clunk and Jam notes even?  Or imagine it’s a bottomless bag (like Mary Poppin’s), forever sprouting new treats, treasures – ideas and directions.   And the beauty of this drawing (of all art and drawing), is that it allows others to have their own perception of the image – invites their own story to the page.  So please pass her on, no doubt there’s plenty of stories in that old carpet bag - awaiting an ink pen or an old typewriter to help them spill …. pop back soon for more art and stories…

“Never underestimate the ability of a small group of citizens to change the world – indeed it’s the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead. Add music and art here too – as reflected in this song. Check out this refreshing interview with the 15 year old Birdy.  It’s available on iTunes and through Amazon.com but unfortunately the real thing is not out in Oz or US until next year (Marchish?). Pass this on …

(From movie on DVD called ‘Griff The Invisible’ – very, very quirky Aussie flick.)

“On average we lose 1 young Western Australian to suicide each week.”  (WA State Coroner).    ”More people die as a result of suicide each year in Australia than there are fatalities on our roads.”  (Australian Bureau of Statistics).     You can support The Black Dog Project and those who may be struggling by simply passing on this ‘Dear Me’ note, and the related articles that follow, through your email and Face Book contacts.  If you need to talk, Lifeline offers a 24/7 phone service 13 11 14.  Or see Black Dog’s links webpage.

‘Dear Me’ …..

There is a book out that poses the question…if you could write a letter to your 16 year old self, what would you say?  Considering, at 15, I tried to take my own life, this is what I’d say….

….. You’ll still be here.  You’ll survive way beyond things you believed you couldn’t.  And there will be many more times when you can’t bear the thought of living another day.   Another moment.   But know that it is but a moment.   A moment in which you have only this desperate thought.   But moments come – and they go.   Tomorrow may not feel a whole lot better but it can be a starting point – not the end. You’ll need to take some seemingly impossible steps.  Every day.  Day in and day out to get to wherever it is you’ll eventually find a sense of place.   A sense of purpose and meaning.   And you don’t necessarily have to know exactly where or when that will be.   You just need to maintain the drive and determination to find it.  Keep putting one foot in front of the other ……and thoughts of not making it behind.

And you’ll have some massive spills along the way that will lay you flat for varying lengths of time – but you’ll get up.   Eventually.  Every time.   You’ll get up.   You must.   And you’ll go another round so you can at the very least, prove to yourself you can.    Your weakest point will be to rely on someone else to do this work for you…

….Without yourself to depend on, you risk ending up lost and alone – inside.  But without accepting a hand from others, you will rob yourself of wisdom and opportunity.   And without seeking the guidance and help of others, you’ll steal from yourself the possibility of knowing and being anything different.   Or maybe even life itself.  This at 15, at 21 – I did not know.

The most life changing moments will come from the times when you’re frightened to the point of freezing over.  Hurt to the point of not wanting to ever feel again.  But remember, fear and pain can make you stick or it can force you to do the impossible.  Propel you into new places. No experience is ever wasted.  But it will be up to you to turn it into something of use to yourself – and ultimately others.   Transform it as you’ll need to continually transform yourself.

Trust yourself and dare to trust others – knowing not everyone can be trusted.   But living in fear of betrayal, rejection, disappointment and pain, can rob you of ever knowing intimacy, love friendship and a life fully lived.  One that fills you with the desire and hunger to get up tomorrow to seek and experience it some more.

Be forever curious.  Wonder – a lot.   It will drive you to explore and challenge everything about yourself – and your world.   It will take you places you, at 15, thought unreachable, untouchable – never new existed.    Strive to be the master of your emotions.  Emotions, unkept, untamed, will distort your perception of the world – and your self.  So get to know them.   Feel them.   Let them in – and out.   Yes, they can consume and rob and crush, but they can also teach and push us to act, to move beyond them and discover new realms.    And you’ll gain ‘must have’ strength and resilience from striving to be more comfortable and in control of your emotions.    From the practice of bossing them around.    From defying and defeating their will to consume.   Riding through them and coming out the other side – alive.  Taller and straighter for the battle.    More confident in venturing beyond your zone of comfort.

Find something outside yourself that’s bigger and harder to grasp than your own sense of being in the world.   This will give you a clearer perspective of your self – your place.    But be mindful of the trap of wanting to right all the wrongs.    Save the world and stop all the suffering.    The helplessness and sense of hopelessness and despair that can come from such a grand notion may be the very thing that prevents you from making any difference at all.    But what we can all do, is simply make kindness our faith.    Be more than just tolerant of others.    Endeavour to broaden your mind and experiences to understand more fully all that you fear.     Who you fear.     Do this and you WILL make a difference to the world. Seek out stories from others.    Be curious.    Interested.    Listen.    Feel.    Think.    Question.    Write and draw.   Use stories, pictures, art and music to create a map that will help you find your own way.    Do your own thing.    Lead you beyond your current life – and self.

Embrace your individuality and difference.  No-one else will value it as much as YOU need to.    And to hold on to it, to grow it beyond the confines and margins continually imposed upon you will be your toughest task.    Dream about your possible self – and put real, tangible things in place to make it happen.     Create and recreate yourself.    No-one else can do this but you. Own everything about yourself.    Everything.    Take it back if it’s been taken.    Hold it if it’s been hurt.    Believe in it even when it’s lost its way – its mind.    Foster a strong belief in your ability to survive and grow.

Accept you will make mistakes and people will tell of your failures.   Every mistake is an opportunity – but one.    The mistake of thinking you have no other choice but to cease to exist.    And it is just that – a mistake.    An opportunity forever lost.    So punch these words into your mind for times of desperation and despair….THIS TIME WILL PASS.     It does and it will.    Acknowledge your own role in getting through those tough times.    Surviving impossible moments.     Taking impossible steps.    And you’ll need to call on this time and time again to survive – beyond 15.    (Written November 2011 / Images from book ‘World of Wonder’).

See also this post about mending as individuals and a community here.  Princess Margaret Children’s Hospital talk here.  An article I wrote called, ‘Why Have Our Children Stopped Dancing’.  A must see/must read photographic exhibition by Toni Wilkinson questioning if school mottos are aiming too high here.

Click on the typewriter to view and/or print the Clunk & Jam note version of ‘Dear Me’.    Please pass this on ….

Received some pics from those who draw strength from Black Dog.  This one’s from Caroline who has framed some of the Army of Ink from the ’21 Postcard’ series and keeps them on her bedside table.  She also happens to be a collector of old typewriters too (this is one of her 3).

Elle sent this one in and calls it her ‘strength wall’ made from art and stories from Black Dog.  She is also making a mobile out of the ’21 Friends’ postcards too.  Thanks for the ideas Elle.  Check out her tattoo in a previous post here.

Another use for the Black Dog website is to leave an image up on the computer – or use it as a screen saver.  This one is the Patti Smith Clunk & Jam note.  Just found it soothing to have close at bedtime.

This one’s a Clunk & Jam note collection on a wall at the Narrogin Mental Health Expo.  You can use these notes to create the same on bedroom and office walls too.   I use masking tape but you can use blue tac etc.  If you’ve got any pictures of what you do with Black Dog art and stories/books and cards, send them in so we can share your ideas with others.

Just lost my best mate – and shadow.   Each day I’m realising how much a part of each day she was.   She was my view …

…sat patiently as I made paper things.

But the poor old girl was going blind – her back legs and mind were failing her.  A friend’s question helped us make the painful decision to end her suffering;  “Make sure every day is a good day for her”.   It wasn’t.   And it was our own pain of losing her that became the reason we wanted more days with her.  But she was suffering terribly.   What we’ll hold close in memory is the 14 years of good days we spent with her.  But right now, the sadness is here.  And I’m thinking…sometimes sadness pals up with anger.  Sometimes with fear or despair.  And sometimes it’s just straight up sadness.  Sheer loss, and you just have to let the tears pour - and not lose grip on the good times you had.   Wrote this Haiku poem about her a while back here.    And  Catapillar Talk  I hold close as a soothing reminder about life’s natural cycle.  RIP pooch.  Long live the dog.

“When I was 5 years old, my Mother always told me that happiness was the key to life.   When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up.  I wrote down, ‘happy’.  They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life. ”   John Lennon  (See this previous post about unhappiness).

Lennon’s inspiring story can be seen in a documentary (DVD) called ‘LennonYC’ and there’s another called, ‘Death of a Beatle’.  (Thanks Jo from wheatbelt WA for passing through Lennon’s quote).  Pass it on …

Click on typewriter and stick Lennon up somewhere.

Every Day Is Yours To Win . (Lyrics by R.E.M./image from album Collide In The Now) …… with the walk and the talk  .   and the tick tock clock   .  with the rock and the roll  .   and the bridge and the toll   .  with the brilliance and the light  .  and the stink and the fight  .  and the road ahead of you  .  i cannot tell a lie .   it’s not all cherry pie  .  but it’s all there waiting for you, yeah you  .  hey yeah, hey yeah  .  hey yeah, i know  .  with the warp and the wooze  .  and the subterfuge  .  does it all look bitter and blue?  .  well i’m nothing but confused  .  with nothing left to lose  .  and if you buy that, i’ve got a bridge, for you  .  hey yeah, hey yeah .  hey yeah, i know (rpt)  .  every day is new again  .  every day is yours to win  .  and that’s how heroes are made  .  i wanted to win  .  so i said it again; .  that’s how heroes are made  .  hey yeah, hey yeah  .  hey yeah I know (rpt) .

I hear rural folk have trouble with downloads on the internet so rather than a video clip I’ve created this one as a Clunk and Jam note for you.   Click on the typewriter to view and print.  Pass it on …