Graham Patrick Johnson

This is a picture of my sister's son, who sadly took his own life recently. We had no idea he was disillusioned. I am so sorry to everyone who lost Graham out of their life. He was such a nice person and I wonder why this had to happed to him?I understand life can be really difficult sometimes and before I read The Road Less Traveled by Dr Peck, I thought there was little we could do but just read this one quote from Dr Peck which says it all,"Life is difficult.This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths. It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it. Once we truly know that life is difficult--once we truly understand and accept it--then life is no longer difficult. Because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters."Graham self-proclaimed himself a Buddhist (not sure if he still considered himself Buddhist at the time of his death, but I do know he read and respected Buddha. I have to assume he Graham was searching for the truth and for answers in Buddha's words. Now we are all searching for answers on how could this have happened? How could he have done this? I keep reminding myself that I never did figure out why my friend Greg did the same thing and I won't ever know what he was thinking in his last moments and why. I think we just have to do the best we can to continue and to make sure we get as many of our friends and family to continue as possible...and to try not to let this happen. Dr Peck said the following on c0ntinueing:To take seriously the notion that we are creations of God, he points out, imposes certain limits on us. "This is not solely my life to do with as I see fit. To kill myself is to deny God, to deny Her timing and right to my life," he writes. Peck argues not that we can't kill ourselves -- free will gives us every opportunity to do so -- but that we shouldn't.It is only because of problems that we grow mentally and spiritually.We must be willing to fail and to appreciate the truth that often "Life is not a problem to be solved, but a mystery to be lived.Life is difficult. This is the great truth, one of the greatest truths—it is a great truth because once we see this truth, we transcend it.”The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers.here is one is a quote from Buddha:The thought manifests as the word. The word manifests as the deed. The deed develops into habit. And the habit hardens into character. So watch the thought and its ways with care. And let it spring from love, born out of concern for all beings. I like this advice from Doc Childre in the book, Teaching Children to Love:"Harmonizing heart and brain through love is what can establish a complete intelligence, a complete self, where a child can look at life and realize there are no dead ends, there are always possibilities. The greatest gift a parent can give a child during all the ups and downs of life is love."Graham Patrick Johnson, 15, of 860 Gordon Moore Road, died Tuesday, January 17, 2006. Graham was a sophomore at The Franklin Academy where he was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society in the 8th grade and had recently qualified for the National Honor Society. He was a member of the Franklin Academy Concert Band where he played the Tuba and participated in the Jazz Band in the 8th and 9th grade. He loved all kinds of music and was a member of the chess club.He volunteered each spring at the annual Wake Forest Herb Festival, founded by his father, Bob, and at the Autumn Arts Festival in the Fall.Graham loved the outdoors and he could always be depended upon to feed the peacocks, graze the ducks and most importantly, to venture back in the house to show his family how to change channels, use the remote or brew a cup of coffee in his new espresso machine. For his 9th birthday, Graham wanted a rice cooker and sushi supplies which he used generously to supply his classmates and teachers at Franklin Academy. He had many friends and will be truly missed.A Mass of Resurrection will be held at 10 o'clock, Thursday morning, January 19, 2006 at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church. Burial will follow in Wake Forest Cemetery.Graham is survived by his parents, Robert Graham and Elizabeth Grace Johnson; sisters, Elizabeth Paige Johnson and Janna Clair Johnson; grandparents, Leroy and Dorothy Gonnella of Greensboro and Cora Johnson of Abingdon, VA; aunts and uncles, Steve and Patti Johnson Upchurch of Raleigh, Jean Volpe Gonnella of Greensboro, Lee and Holly Gonnella of Phoeniz, OR Scott and Amanda Johnson and cousin, Katherine Grace Johnson of Harrisonburg, VA; godfather, Christopher Roan of Memphis, TN.He was preceded in death by his grandfather, James Arthur "Bo" Johnson.