Editing Buckminster Fuller (section)

=== Depression and epiphany ===
Fuller recalled 1927 as a pivotal year of his life. His daughter Alexandra had died in 1922 of complications from [[polio]] and [[spinal meningitis]]<ref>Fuller, R. Buckminster, ''Your Private Sky'', p. 27</ref> just before her fourth birthday.<ref name="Sieden-1989-Buckminster-Fuller's-Universe">{{cite book | title=Buckminster Fuller's Universe: His Life and Work| first=Lloyd Steven |last=Sieden | publisher=Basic Books | year=1989 | isbn=978-0-7382-0379-9 }}</ref> Barry Katz, a Stanford University scholar who wrote about Fuller, found signs that around this time in his life Fuller had developed depression and [[anxiety]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/arts/music/15ster.html|title=The Love Song of R. Buckminster Fuller|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|author=James Sterngold|date=June 15, 2008 |access-date=January 24, 2019}}</ref> Fuller dwelled on his daughter's death, suspecting that it was connected with the Fullers' damp and drafty living conditions.<ref name="Sieden-1989-Buckminster-Fuller's-Universe" /> This provided motivation for Fuller's involvement in [[Stockade Building System]]s, a business which aimed to provide affordable, efficient housing.<ref name="Sieden-1989-Buckminster-Fuller's-Universe" />

In 1927, at age 32, Fuller lost his job as president of Stockade. The Fuller family had no savings, and the birth of their daughter Allegra in 1927 added to the financial challenges. Fuller drank heavily and reflected upon the solution to his family's struggles on long walks around Chicago. During the autumn of 1927, Fuller contemplated suicide by drowning in Lake Michigan, so that his family could benefit from a life insurance payment.<ref name="Sieden-p87">{{cite book | title=Buckminster Fuller's Universe: His Life and Work| first=Lloyd Steven |last=Sieden | publisher=Basic Books | year=1989 | isbn=978-0-7382-0379-9 |page=87 |quote=during 1927, Bucky found himself unemployed with a new daughter to support as winter was approaching. With no steady income the Fuller family was living beyond its means and falling further and further into debt. Searching for solace and escape, Bucky continued drinking and carousing. He also tended to wander aimlessly through the Chicago streets pondering his situation. It was during one such walk that he ventured down to the shore of Lake Michigan on a particularly cold autumn evening and seriously contemplated swimming out until he was exhausted and ending his life.}}</ref>

Fuller said that he had experienced a profound incident which would provide direction and purpose for his life. He felt as though he was suspended several feet above the ground enclosed in a white sphere of light. A voice spoke directly to Fuller, and declared:

{{Blockquote|From now on you need never await temporal attestation to your thought. You think the truth. You do not have the right to eliminate yourself. You do not belong to you. You belong to the Universe. Your significance will remain forever obscure to you, but you may assume that you are fulfilling your role if you apply yourself to converting your experiences to the highest advantage of others.<ref name="Sieden-p87-88">{{cite book | title=Buckminster Fuller's Universe: His Life and Work| first=Lloyd Steven |last=Sieden | publisher=Basic Books | year=1989 | isbn=978-0-7382-0379-9 |pages=87–88}}</ref>|author=|title=|source=}}

Fuller stated that this experience led to a [[Epiphany (feeling)|profound re-examination]] of his life. He ultimately chose to embark on "an experiment, to find what a single individual could contribute to changing the world and benefiting all humanity."<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/automobiles/collectibles/15BUCKY.html |title=Design – A Three-Wheel Dream That Died at Takeoff – Buckminster Fuller and the Dymaxion Car |newspaper=The New York Times |date=June 15, 2008 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Speaking to audiences later in life, Fuller would frequently recount the story of his Lake Michigan experience, and its transformative impact on his life.