One of the ironies of humanity is that for a species defined by our capability for communication, we are rubbish at it.
It must be said though, one half of the race is bringing down the average. The male of the species is exceptionally bad. Problems tend not to be communicated. This causes more problems.
Back in July, the Inspire Foundation ran the #manweek campaign to raise awareness of the high rate of suicide, mental illness, drug and alcohol dependency among young men in Australia.
A wide cross-section of people supported this and many shared their stories, experiences, thoughts and feelings through words. The results were amazing. Beautiful, poignant and truthful.
Reading the various submissions was humbling, a reminder of perspective and of people. The honesty apparent in each story was and is, an inspiration to me.
Gavin Heaton and Mark Pollard went the extra step, wanting to reach outside of an internet-centric environment with its occasional echo chamber tendencies. Calling for further contributions, they created a (self-published) book ‘The Perfect Gift for a Man‘. The proceeds go back to the Inspire Foundation. It is a fantastic effort and achievement for an important cause.
In an apathetic world, people who do something to try and make a difference should be applauded.
To everyone involved, I just want to say thank you.
You can buy the perfect gift for a man here. And you should.
Life can be hard. We all know someone who could do with talking about it.
