Beethoven’s Letter About Suicide Is A Guide For Dealing With Adversity
The great composer teaches us how to fail and succeed in life’s ultimate trials
When I was twelve, doctors told me I needed major surgery on my spine, which would require a long recovery time. A few days before the operation, they gave me a note. It didn’t look special, but the cheap office paper with a generic font was soul-crushing.
Almost as an afterthought, a doctor mentioned it was a list of things I’d never be able to do for my entire life. Boom, that quick. It was like a door slammed in my face, taking away so many endless possibilities that power many of the dreams when you’re young.
I didn’t handle it well. For a time, I was a total prick and lashed out at whatever or whoever was in range. But over time, the limitations helped me by showing me other paths for creativity and growth. Recently, I relived all this again by reading another note from hundreds of years ago.
In 1802, on the verge of becoming the Western world’s greatest composer, Ludwig van Beethoven penned a letter about his serious contemplation of suicide. Suddenly, his future was in peril. The musician realized he was losing the one faculty that made his world possible — his hearing.
