Today is World Mental Health Awareness Day, a day to check in with ourselves – are we thriving, coping, surviving or feeling overwhelmed?
And if we’re ok, maybe to check in with those we care about.
There’s a (really short) poem I like: “Not Waving but Drowning” by Stevie Smith – inspired by something she read about a man who drowned and whose friends thought he was waving to them, not drowning.
She compares this to the way in which people in everyday life sometimes try to be ‘brave’ and/or pretend to be ok, when really they’re not.
If you’ve been writing Christmas cards or sending e-cards, emails, texts or other Christmas and New Year messages recently you may well have been thinking about friends – who you’ve been in touch with this year, and who you haven’t.
Whole People 