ARE YOU OK?

Today, the 12^th of September 2013, is ‘ARE YOU OK?’ day.

In Australia, there is a suicide attempt every ten minutes! That’s a hell of a lot of depressed people living in a state of mind where they feel that life is not worth living, for whatever reason.

I’m pretty sure that each and every one of us has been touched by this kind of tragedy at some point in our lives and if you’re anything like me, it leaves you wondering if you did everything you could to stop it from happening.

Most of the time we have absolutely no idea that someone close to us is having a hard time dealing with life. They may walk around with a smile on their lips but their eyes tell a completely different story. The problem is, we’re so busy doing our own thing in our own very busy lives, that we don’t actually stop to take a good look at our friends and colleagues.

More often than not, when we ask the fleeting question, “How are you going?” we don’t even hear the answer, let alone look into their eyes as they tell us. The secret is there. They’ll try to hide it from us but if we take a few seconds to look deep enough, we’ll find the truth. And sometimes, all they need is someone to listen for a few minutes.

If you’re ever the one chosen by someone to lend an ear, don’t ever turn them away. You never know...you could be the one who ends up saving their life.

Until next time...

M.C. Holman...