Bravery or cowardice?

This has been nagging me since yesterday. Is suicide an act of bravery or cowardice?
The amount of guts that is necessary to have to kill oneself is immeasurable. The mere thought of the suffering, however quick it may be, is enough to send shivers down one’s spine. The thought to commit suicide is one thing, but the resolve to put it into action is completely another thing. While these two are on one hand, the most important thing is the last minute fear of the death and the unknown beyond that engulfs a person who stands on the precipice of his/her life. This is what stops most of the people who contemplate committing suicide. Overcoming this fear is possibly one of the bravest things that can be done.

But then, how can a person committing suicide be deemed a brave thing. If a person has enough guts to kill himself/herself, then can’t that strength of mind and heart be reinforced into overcoming the pain that causes the thought of ending one’s life and continue ploughing on in life? Life is no bed of roses. If it is, then it surely has innumerable thorns. Trying to end one’s life prematurely is no solution to the misery. It is indeed a sign of weakness and cowardice. There is no pain that won’t fade with time. Every act can be redeemed, except suicide. There is no reason to end life without knowing what is in store. For all you know, the inspiration or tonic that was being waited for so long might have been just around the corner. A better prospect might have been in the wings. Suicide can be defined as the act of the weak hearted bowing down to the pains in life unable to face the challenge any more. It certainly isn’t a brave thing. It is a very cowardly thing to do. May be the only brave decision in the life of a coward.

A single moment of reflection of how much misery, which may never fade away, this act of killing one self would cause to other persons to whom they might mean so much, for whom life might around them, to whom one might be the guiding light must make the person get on with life.

But again perspective differs.
It may be a brave thing in some people’s view.
The first question that people ask, in fact most people ask, when they hear of suicide is: Where did he/she get the guts from?
Then again, it may be a cowardly act too.

But either of the things it may be, the one thing that suicide surely is that it is the most selfish act of all.

Yeah, F%^& you!