Are YOU OK?

Are you ok?

This is a pretty simple question right? Seems like it. Well…not exactly. Whether you’d like to believe it or not, realize it or not, there are many people walking around right now and they are in fact not ok. People you walk by daily, people you work with, people you’re related to, people you’re friends with, people you laugh with, and just people you cross paths with in general. But with all the hustle and bustle of life’s grueling duties, it never really occurs to any of us to stop and ask the question. “Are you ok?” is a powerful question and packs a healing punch. In many cases, it holds the key to the caged up pain. It could possibly change the course of a person’s day. It could possibly change the course of a life. Just because one wears their smile extremely well, does not mean they’re ok. Lots of people hide behind smiles and laughter which is why you have to pay close attention to the eyes. The eyes never lie. The eyes will give you a keen view into the soul and tell the truest story. It is the gateway. So many people are hurting in silence and are crying out in silence. Asking someone if they’re ok will cost you absolutely nothing and it’s even more priceless for them. I know what you may be thinking. Why doesn’t the person in need just ask for help? Why do I have to ask them if they’re ok? It’s so much more complex. Most people who are battling something in silence, feel like they have no one to turn to for various reasons. They may suffer from abandonment issues, they’re broken, they’ve been abused, and the list can go on. They feel like no one understands them, they’re afraid, and they don’t trust so easily. If you were getting hurt on a daily basis by someone who claimed to love you or if you were being bullied on a daily basis, Would you speak up so easily? What if you placed your trust in more people than you could count on two hands only for it to be broken every single time? Would you speak up so easily then? When humanity has failed you repeatedly, would you speak up so easily then? No I am in no way telling you that you need to be a savior or that you’re required to ask, “Are you ok”. But let me remind you in a friendly fashion, that it costs you nothing to show kindness and compassion for another human being. Another human being like you and one day you might be the one suffering in silence.

Recently, Meghan Markle did an interview and out of everything she said, there is one statement she made that has been embedded into my mind ever since. She said, “Thank you for asking because not many people have asked me if I’m ok”. Wow, I really felt that and her eyes screamed pure sadness. This is an example of how we all get so wrapped up in our own lives that we forget to be human and we forget to show compassion for one another. So I challenge you all who have taken time out to read this, I challenge you to check on someone today and ask them if they’re ok. I challenge you to leave someone better than you found them.

BE WELL!