The skies are gray. The clouds are hanging low. Too low to be comfortable. There is a sense of impending danger. The river is swollen, waves crashing on another as if in a haste to beat each other. You have to somehow get to the other side, but there are no signs of any possibilities that can take you there. It seems too much of an effort and giving up and dying in peace seems to be a better option than crossing the river.
Have you been there? Maybe you have. Then you know what it is like. There are perhaps hundreds, if not thousands, like you who are struggling each day to weather the storm and cross the buoyant river. The i’MPossible Project is a collection of stories of these brave people. People who took a step back, took a deep breath, and resolved to wait for the storm to pass.
Josh Rivedal had once found himself at this very spot – on the banks of the river. But he rebounded and now shares his story with thousands through plays and books. People from every walk of life share their struggles and take inspiration from him and inspire him in return.
Josh Rivedal is an Actor, Playwright and a speaker. He regularly stages his one-man play Kicking My Blue Genes in the Butt in the US, UK, Australia and Canada. He is also the founder of The i’MPossible Project, a non-profit media company with an aim to engage on suicide prevention, mental health, diversity, and social change.
The i’Mpossible Project: Reengaging With Life, Creating a New You
Author: Josh Rivedal
Paperback: 258 pages
Publisher: Skookum Hill Publishing (January 13, 2016)
ISBN: 0986096490, 978-0986096495
I don’t remember the source of this quote or the story that sent this message. But the crux of it was that just because the person in front of you is always smiling, it doesn’t mean that there is no grief in her life.
Grief is relative. For a person who hasn’t experienced a cut, a prick is the greatest form of pain. Neither is physical pain more or less painful than mental agony. The I’MPossible Project shares stories of people from all walks life who have suffered in very different ways.
Broken relationships and dysfunctional families, terminal illness and acute chronic health troubles, society bias because of lifestyle choices or sexual orientation: these can all bring people to the river bank.
But every time you think you are enduring something unimaginable, humble yourself with the knowledge that there are many more in the same boat. Have hope that there are many who have crossed that river, and there are still others who have experienced much more and re-engaged with life.
Josh Rivedal believes that stories have healing powers. By sharing stories with each other we teach as well as learn. So when the skies get all dark, pick up The i’MPossible Project book and read a story or two, be inspired, and wait for the storm to pass.