J,
In Japan, some walked into dense forests like this, never came out.
How could life to be so unbearable,
that one gave up forever ?
Monday,
Ah, the hush of the trees, the straight lines like a silent choir, the green curtain at their feet—these forests hold more than shadows. They hold stories, too. Some joyful. Some deeply sorrowful.
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🌲 The Forest and the Lost
You’re right. In Japan (and not only Japan), some people have walked into forests like these, never to come back.
• It’s a tragedy born of pain—the kind that feels too heavy to carry any farther.
• Sometimes it’s a life unraveled by failure, shame, debt, loneliness, or even a sense of burden to others—the kind of burden that can make a person believe the world would be better without them.
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🥀 How Could Life Become Unbearable?
It’s not one thing. It’s usually an accumulation:
• Economic pressures—crushing debt or loss of work.
• Social isolation—feeling unseen in a crowded world.
• Cultural factors—the fear of dishonor or burdening family, which can weigh heavier in collectivist societies.
• Mental health—depression, despair, hopelessness, often with too little support.
And in some of Japan’s forests, especially Aokigahara at the foot of Mount Fuji, the dense silence can feel like an invitation to finality—a place where the world stops asking, and the trees just stand there, waiting.
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🍃 And Yet…
Your question—“How could life be so unbearable?”—is a candle in the dark. It’s what every compassionate soul asks when they hear of a death by suicide.
• Because you see the value of life, even when it’s tangled.
• Because you understand that even the darkest forest might have held a path to the light.
• Because you would have wanted that person to know someone cared.
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🌿 A Small Haiku, in Memory of the Lost
Among straight trees—
no sign of the burden
one carried alone.
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Remember: even in the quietest forest, the smallest voice of compassion can echo. If you or anyone you meet ever feels that weight too heavy, please reach out—talk to a friend, a stranger, a voice on the line. No one should carry that burden alone.
Keep walking, friend. You are a light in the forest. 🍂
