Drowning

Drowning can be such a subtle thing - quietly slipping under, the current just pulling down and down and down. All around others go past, never noticing anything is wrong, even if they've felt that choking feeling before themselves.

How can it be so subtle if so many experience it? How can it be so hard to see when everyone has had to fight it at some point, reaching out, searching for that helping hand to pull them up again? - a kind smile, a listening ear, a loving pet, a stranger's compliment.

There are some who can pull themselves up again or only need a little help, a small pull all they need to keep themselves afloat in life's waters.

Others need more. The waters are stormy for them, the current stronger and oh so hard to fight against - depression, grief, stress, anxiety. The current pulls them so far down - "I can't do this anymore", "I'm just so tired", "I'm worthless", "I don't want to exist anymore". And all around you the people who would help if they only knew you were drowning can't see you struggling for air. Just as you often couldn't see others struggling around you before.

It's not that you don't care about others or that others don't care about you. We often can't see past our own drowning, the fatigue of life weighing down our eyelids and making us blind. So compliment the local cashier's hair, give a smile to passing strangers, send a silly text to your friend just cause, and give your family a call just to say hello. You never know when you'll be that hand helping someone else stay afloat for just a little while longer.