"If death were really the end of everything, this would be a great deal for the wicked, because when they died they would have canceled all the evils not only of their body, but of their soul." (Sócrates)

The influence of the arts on our earthly trajectory has always been noticed and copied. The universal success of the great classics through the centuries is a fact. In this month of September, the media agreed to talk about the “yellow September”, regarding those who attempt or interrupt their lives in the physical body. I propose a brief reflection on two magnificent works that have significantly marked our history.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, in 1774, wrote a novel entitled “The Sorrows of Young Werther”, narrating a tragic story in which young Werther, loved Charlot who also loved him, but married Albert. This event deeply shakes the psychic and emotional structures of the young man who takes his own life using the executioner's weapon.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, in 1791, composes “Magic Flute”, an opera whose character, Papageno, afraid of losing the woman he loves, Papagena, decides not to live any longer, since she was the only reason to continue living. Close friends manage to dissuade him from the idea by presenting other alternatives for the outcome of the matter.

Two situations where life is being put in check.

First, Werther abandons the physical body, anticipating the return to the spiritual plane, committing himself to the Law of Cause and Effect. An unusual act that was considered at the time a stimulating factor for so many other people in despair, to follow their "example". As happens nowadays, when distinguished figures repeat this practice, there is a considerable increase in attitudes as wrong as that of Young Werther.

The second with Papageno, the scenario is altered with the intervention of friends who draw his attention to the importance of life, showing how significant it is to value the opportunity to be inhabiting a body that was temporarily provided by the cosmic treasury, with all resources natural and spiritual that you need to complete your stay on Earth as an incarnated spirit, regardless of the setbacks suffered, which in essence, strengthen and improve the spiritual character of the Being. A demonstration of love and human solidarity that is the duty of everyone who trusts the designs of a superior vibrational force, which is beyond our command and understanding of its mechanisms of action. The context of the first story was known over the centuries as the “Werther effect or contagion effect” (stimulus for the consummation of the act). The second as the “Papageno effect” (stimulation to remove the idea of​​the act). Searching current statistics from the WHO (World Health Organization) we found data stating that every 40 seconds a Werther interrupts life in the physical body. I am not using the word common to this act here, so as not to serve as a contagion to alert possible attacks and missteps. I take this opportunity to leave a warning to anyone who may be asked to explain about this issue to take the necessary care not to make apologies and not to show any encouragement in the qualification of this social disaster. And at the same time, forward some tips when circumstances come face to face with a case of hopeless people that suggests special attention: Listen with cordiality. To be cordial is to listen with the heart to the person and what is important to him/her; treat the other's story with respect. That's what the person is living; that is their own story. It's what the person believes to be the truth; use of empathy. It is trying to feel what the other is feeling. To experience the complaint as if it were your complaint, to feel the pain as if it were your pain; when you notice that this person is at risk of life through the narrative, do not promise secrecy of the case to please them, immediately look for someone who is directly or indirectly responsible for the person to provide help. Close relative, friend, or preferably, refer a qualified professional to proceed with the approach. This attitude dissuaded Papageno from committing the greatest of all human follies, being the author of the discontinuity of the incarnation. 

There are always alternatives to allay hopelessness. In the words of Viktor Frankl ⁽¹⁾ "We can discover the meaning of life in three ways: by doing something, experiencing a value or love, and suffering". In my opinion, it is not necessary to suffer to find the meaning in life. To be a masochist is not to be heroic. What we call suffering can be linked to a selfish and proud behavior, blocking the perceptual channels that human nature offers us in interpersonal relationships, favoring the awakening of new directions and paths to be taken and obstacles overcome. I believe the only way to access another human being in the depths of your soul is through love. Desiring and doing to the other everything we would like to be done to ourselves.

The Spiritist Doctrine codified by Allan Kardec is permeated with clarifications and safe vectors to deal with these issues. In the introduction to The Book of Spirits, part XV, we find the following quote: “Among the most common causes of cerebral over-excitation, that is, of mental imbalance, there are disappointments, unhappiness, frustrated affections, which are, at the same time, the most frequent causes. This is how the true Spiritist sees the things of this world from a higher point of view; they seem to him so small, so petty, in the face of the future that awaits him; life is for him so short, so fleeting, that tribulations are, in his eyes, only unpleasant incidents of a journey”. ⁽²⁾ The subject can be extended in questions 948 and 949 of the same work and also in The Gospel According to Spiritism, chapter V, item 16, emphasizing moral cowardice and moral courage. ⁽³⁾ To love it is necessary to live.
Live, love and live.

Bibliography:

1 – Frankl, Viktor, In Search of Meaning, 42^nd edition, Voices.

2 – Kardec, Allan, The Book of Spirits, Introduction, chap. XV, 182nd Edition, IDE.

3 – Kardec, Allan, The Gospel According to Spiritism, chap. V, item 16, 113^th edition, FEB.

The author is a Clinical Psychologist, International Spiritist Exhibitor, and a Founding Member of AME-RIO and AME INTERNACIONAL (Medical Spiritist Association of Rio de Janeiro and International Spiritist Medical Association), Hypnotherapist - Founding Member, Director of Editorial and Marketing and Therapist Accredited by the Brazilian Society of Therapy of Past Life (SBTVP) Campinas SP/1994/5/6/7, Advanced Training in Ericsonian Hypnotherapy in Brazil – Hypnosis In Time-limited Therapy III – Milton Ericson Foundation in Phoenix Arizona USA, taught in Brazil by Dr Jefrey Zeig, Supervisor at CESM (Center for Mental Health Studies) of the Pedro de Alcantara Psychiatric Hospital (Rio de Janeiro since 2016) International lecturer and columnist in newspapers, magazines, blogs and YouTube.