By now, you’ve heard the soul (mind, will, and emotions) altering news about the dancer, Dj, television producer, husband, father, and son, Stephen “Twitch” Boss’ death. None of us will ever know why. None of us will ever know what the catalyst was. What we do know is that this is a wake-up call to us all. Invariably the standard census was that he had everything. How and why would he resort to this? Let’s not let this beloved man’s life not be in vain. The aphorism, “you never know what someone is going through” is true. We as a society must create a space where we openly discuss how we are really feeling, doing, and being. Glibly, we ask how each other is. In some instances not even waiting for a response. Secretly hoping that the person says good so we can get back to “our thing”.
Full disclosure, I recently reached out to someone up until that moment I would have described as a “friend”. I could tell by the noise in the background that the timing was not convenient. Nonetheless, the phone was picked up. I remember being asked if I was “good”. I shared, no. I was met with well, perhaps I’ll call you back after my party is over on my way home. At that moment I thought, wow! You don’t even know the purpose of my call. I could be stranded on the side of the road, someone in my family may have died, or I could have been in the hospital. It could have been anything. Now, fortunately, I was simply having a bad moment and wanted to speak to someone whom I could begin in the middle of a conversation with because the foundation of familiarity had already been laid. Granted, on 99.99% of days, I am good. I have a Daily Practice that keeps me in check. Also, fortunately for me, if it was something I couldn’t handle I have a large base of people that I know both loves and care about me. However, when I heard the trending phrase, “check on your strong friends”, I thought back to the moment, and if I’m completely honest, at that moment, that instance, I could relate to feeling alone and isolated. There is something so basic for us as humans needing to be seen and heard.
If you or someone you know are not feeling “like yourself” call 988, right now. If you feel you are in need of a tailored game plan (whether preventative or maintenance), feel comfortable following the steps laid out here:
https://fruitnhands.org/counseling
