R U O K

We have this really terrible tendency as human beings to pull back when things get too hard. When the load on us becomes overwhelming we withdraw, no longer able to muster the strength required to pull off anything more. Worse still, we sometimes pull back from others going through tough times because we simply don't know what to say. We want to help. We wish we could make things better. When we don't know how, the paralysis takes hold. Then we do nothing and the rot sets in.Today is RUOK Day, a disarmingly simple initiative that gives us the ability to help, to reach out, perhaps even to save a life by posing one little question.Are You Okay?(and while we're here... are you ok love?)We may not ever know the difference those four letter-words can make to someone who is wobbling, a soul teetering on the edge. If you have ever felt the impact of suicide in your life - and the statistics show how many of us have - then you know already how the simple act of reaching out has the power to tip things back the right way.The opposite of depression is not joy.The opposite of addiction is not sobriety.The opposite of loneliness is not a crowd.It is connection, in every case. Our deeply human requirement to feel the presence of more than just our tangled self in a manic world that refuses to slow to accommodate us all.Far too many of us are drowning in attention and starving for connection. Be the change you're craving too, dear heart. We each can lean in, reach out, offer comfort and support to one another. Strangers and friends alike. Showing you care can be as simple as this one little question. Ask it regularly.🗝🗝🗝I alone cannot change the world but I can cast a stone across the water and watch many ripples.~ Mother TeresaRUOK? Day has fabulous free resources to help you open the door to connection and conversation with others who may be struggling. Today and every day.www.ruok.org.auWords © Kerrie Basha, 2017