How to save a life
"Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend, somewhere along in the bitterness. And I would have stayed up with you all night, had I known how to save a life."
Pop Rock band, The Fray, released this single in 2005 and the meaning behind it, has always stuck with me. Only until recently, I realized that the inspiration that I've been told, was actually not the reason behind this song, "How to save a life".
I was told that there was a friend of theirs (the band members) who needed them, or needed someone to speak to and it just so happened that, that particular day, they were all busy or away and could not be "there" for this friend. Thereafter, a tragedy occurred, one that I will leave it to you to conclude on your own; and of course, the band members realized that if they had just spent some time with that friend and been there to support him, there might not have been this tragedy.
This meaning struck me and I would tell anyone who listened, about the story behind this song. It was only up until recently when I decided to write something about it, that while researching, I found out that there was another version, a true version.
Isaac Slade, lead singer of The Fray, worked as a mentor at a camp for troubled teens. While there, he encountered a 17 year old who had a lot of problems but no one could "write a manual on how to save him."
People tried to reach out to him as they claim they do, but from experience, I would also gather that people tend to think they know what's best for you and reach out to you in a way that seems to push you further away. Then they insist that they've tried all that they could and were unsuccessful.
All this young man needed, was support.
All anyone ever needs is support.
A genuine listening ear.
Not a half-hearted, let me type to someone else while you're chatting to me.
Not I'm looking at you but thinking of something else.
Someone who actually listens and absorbs; or if the person writes, then read it and understand.
Someone who is there. Not just a present figure but there to sympathize as well as be the silent, supportive shoulders that they need.
This might not be all that you can do to save a life, but at least be the support that they need.
