About RISE:In the spring of 2012, two friends will set off on a cross-country
trek to learn more about the dichotomies of life and the phenomenon of
suicide. Traveling by bicycle, the two will ride from The San Francisco
Golden Gate Bridge, California to Wappingers Falls, New York. On their
journey they will stop in cities and towns across the nation to listen
and talk with those who have lost friends and family to suicide, sharing
stories with others. They’re hope is that the dialog will bring growth
and peace to the survivors left behind.
The cyclists’ goal is to inspire the transformation in one’s life by
creative self-expression through devoted self-reflection. Allowing the
time needed for self-reflection while working through emotional trauma
or any life experience can act as a vehicle for radical change for an
individual’s life, especially when that change is created with an
artistic level of self-expression. Art can act as a powerful catharsis.
The transformative healing power not only has the potential to heal the
artist, but when expressed to the outer world it can act as a catalyst
for another individual’s healing process.
The cyclists are under no delusion that they will vanquish or stem
the acts of suicide. Rather, through their cross-country tour, they hope
to understand the cycle of pain with which it comes.
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