Heather Ledger : symbolic of a lost generation?

While millions are dying each year because they can’t afford to stay alive, it seems that at the opposite end of the spectrum those with millions of dollars and every opportunity available to them are struggling with incredible internal pain and confusion, falling hopelessly into a spiral of self-destruction and, in some terribly sad cases, even death.

Heath Ledger, at only 28 years of age, had already enjoyed incredible “success” in the film industry and had potentially many more years ahead of him to continue making an impact. What more could a person ask for? He’s had the opportunity of phenomenal income, marriage, children, fame, prestige, intellect, wit, good looks… and now it’s all ended — if the initial reports are correct it would appear that he was trying to ‘escape’ from something through drug-taking and wild partying. Why is it that, even when we’ve got everything we could possibly dream of, we don’t wake up each morning in awe and appreciation of everything we have?

Any ideas?

I hardly need to paint the contrasting picture of those living in extreme poverty — you’ve heard it all before… but maybe I’ll just touch briefly on that anyway, in my next post. If only we could learn to appreciate our lives and be thankful, rather than losing our appreciation and becoming lost in our own pains and sorrows.