When someone takes their own life we often ask Why?

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We can't understand the pain they were in.

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Or why they didn't reach out for help.

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We feel we could have helped them if only we knew.

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Yet we didn't know, and after the fact there is nothing we can do.

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We wish so much that they had reached out to us.

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That we could have been there for the them.

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But the person in pain is never the one to reach out.

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That is up to us.

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The time for us to reach out to our friends is always now.

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For we have no idea what they are going through.

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And perhaps that unexpected call from us would make all the difference.

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It might be the one thing that changes their decision.

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For the decision to commit suicide is one born out of pain.

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And knowing that someone out there cares enough for them to randomly reach out to them may make he difference.

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We have all been through hard times when we wished someone would reach out to us.

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Haven't we learned that lesson for ourselves?

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Especially during this time of isolation and fear, that connection is so important.

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It is not up to the person in isolation to reach out.

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It is up to the community to reach out to them.

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For one person's health is the health of the community.

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And the responsibility falls on all of our shoulders.

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The time to ask what is going on is before the tragedy happens.

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Yet sometimes we don't, and the tragedy does happen.

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Beating ourselves up for not reaching out does not serve us.

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Allowing the loss of a friend of loved one can serve as a reminder to reach out.

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So let's honor the ones we have lost by not being in sadness nd depression, but by doing for another what we did not do for that person.

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Reach out to someone we haven't spoken to for a while.

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Check in with people you haven't heard from.

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It may make all the difference in the world.

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So who can you check in on that you have not spoken to for a while?

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~ Sam Liebowitz, The Conscious Consultant