RIP Chester Bennington

Richard Hanson
Jul 22, 2017 · 3 min read

Steve Holden, of the BBC Newsbeat, described Chester Bennington, the Voice of a generation. But sadly like so many other voices, it was cut short by tragedy.

Earlier this year, Bennington penned an open letter regarding his good friend, Chris Cornell, who took his own life after a concert in Detroit.

You have inspired me in many ways you could never have known.

Your talent was pure and unrivalled. Your voice was joy and pain, anger and forgiveness, love and heartache all wrapped up into one. I suppose that’s what we all are. You helped me understand that.

I can’t imagine a world without you in it. I pray you find peace in the next life. I send my love to your wife and children, friends and family. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your life.

— Chester Bennington

“If you are looking for a sign not to take your own life, let this be your sign.”

So who was Chester Bennington? (Read it in his own words)

The son of a police officer in Phoenix, Arizona, Bennington was born on 20 March 1976 and had a troubled youth.

After years of drug use, he got sober and joined Linkin Park in 1998.

“Growing up, for me, was very scary and very lonely,” he told Metal Hammer magazine in 2014.

“I started getting molested when I was about seven or eight,” he said, describing the abuser as an older friend.

“I was getting beaten up and being forced to do things I didn’t want to do.

“It destroyed my self-confidence. Like most people, I was too afraid to say anything.

“I didn’t want people to think I was gay or that I was lying. It was a horrible experience,” he told the magazine.

His parents divorced when he was 11 years old, and he went to live with his father, whom he described as “not emotionally very stable then”, adding “there was no one I could turn to”.

I want you to go back and reread his last 8 words.

“There Was No One I Could Turn To”

Ironically, their latest music video for the song “Talking to Myself” was released on the same day of the artist’s death.

What tragedy, the voice of a generation, a man ahead of his time, had no one to turn to.

My friend, wherever you are right now in this great wide world, I want you to do something for me.

Place your hand over your heart,

Can you feel it? That is called purpose.

You’re alive for so much more, so don’t ever give up.

You see, the paradox of life is found in both pleasure and pain- the two are inseparable. Try as hard as we may to avoid it, it’s inevitable that tragedy will strike. There will be good days, and their will be not so good days. If you are experiencing the painful side of life right now, just know the coin will inevitably flip, to the pleasurable side of life, so don’t give up, eventually the tide will turn.

Harriet Beecher Stowe once said,

“When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.”

The paradox of life is found in both pleasure and pain- they are inseparable.

So if you are looking for a sign not to take your own life, let this be your sign.

If you or someone you know needs someone to talk to, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 1–800–273–8255.

My deepest condolences to the family, friends and Fans of Chester Bennington.

Bennington leaves behind six children from marriages.

RIP Chester Bennington

Much love,

RH

www.iamrichardhanson.com

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Richard Hanson

Written by

One man’s journey to inspire hope. iamrichardhanson.com

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