Cathy Caplener’s Post

Meet, William. His job is to collect trash every morning on the Redondo Beach Esplanade. He has an amazing smile and positivity about him. He seems to know everyone. When he gets out of his little red truck to snag trash people gravitate towards him to chat. It is all about respect and support. Today I gifted him with a YOU ARE ENOUGH tee and hat. He was all smiles and said that he can't wait to wear the goods in front of his 12 year old son. I will definitely get a shirt for his son as well. This is so about life and seeing and supporting one another. Share the love forward and let people know you see them!!! #youareenough💙 #iseeyou #unite #supportothers #kindness #peace

In honor of World Mental Health Day, I would like to share this poem by David Whyte. It is spot on about how so many of us at times feel alone and not seen. I know these feelings can feel so true, yet, when I read this poem, it helps me lean into the fact that we are ONE with life and nature and even though we may not have human to human connection, we have the LIFE all around us that we are seeking. EVERYTHING IS WAITING FOR YOU Your great mistake is to act the drama as if you were alone. As if life were a progressive and cunning crime with no witness to the tiny hidden transgressions. To feel abandoned is to deny the intimacy of your surroundings. Surely, even you, at times, have felt the grand array; the swelling presence, and the chorus, crowding out your solo voice. You must note the way the soap dish enables you, or the window latch grants you courage. Alertness is the hidden discipline of familiarity. The stairs are your mentor of things to come, the doors have always been there to frighten you and invite you, and the tiny speaker in the phone is your dream-ladder to divinity. Put down the weight of your aloneness and ease into the conversation. The kettle is singing even as it pours you a drink, the cooking pots have left their arrogant aloofness and seen the good in you at last. All the birds and creatures of the world are unutterably themselves. Everything is waiting for you. … Human beings seem to carry a sense of anticipation with them wherever they go, sometimes it is in the form of dread, when we feel we are not equal to what we find, sometimes it is that rare sense of an about-to-happen joyful meeting. In the extended disciplines of silence we start to see that actually, everything is also anticipating us, everything is trying to find us, everything is looking and trying to see our essence. The bringing together of these interior and exterior forms of anticipation creates a radiant identity that lives at a vibrant and conversational edge and that enlivens everything and everyone we touch and see. DW ... ‘Everything is Waiting for You ’from EVERYTHING IS WAITING FOR YOU Poems by David Whyte © David Whyte and Many Rivers Press

Today is World Mental Health Day and I would like to say thank you to so many for being with me on my mental wellness journey that started about 17 years ago when I had a fall, shall we say, and had to be rebuilt to know that I will be safe when I am alone. It is a nervous system and trauma thing that I had to work through for eight years and it was the hardest, most heartbreaking, confusing, and scariest things I have ever gone through. Trauma stays with us forever and sometimes it gets triggered and may lead us down a dark tunnel. Without friends and the amazing therapist, I would have not made it. Many folks will have what we call situational depression where they find themselves in a life that is too hard to deal with and in turn they may venture towards drugs and alcohol to numb out the fear and sad feelings. We saw this a lot during the pandemic and unfortunately are seeing it again today. Depression continues to be the number one disability in our country. Let that settle in. DISABILITY. We are all striving to feel and be happy in our lives and sometimes this is just too hard. I know that the YOU ARE ENOUGH campaign is helping people and saving lives. However, I also know, from firsthand experience, that telling someone that they are enough is not enough. When you are in a dark space, words may not matter and you will not be able to take them in. It takes strength, resilience, sense of self, and a support system with friends, family, and professionals to get you through these times. And yes, sometimes medication. And this is ok! If you or someone you know is struggling or thinking about suicide, know there’s support available. You can call or text 988 for 24/7 access to mental health professionals. For more confidential help or to find a treatment center near you, here’s a resource from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) : https://findtreatment.gov/ Another great organization offering support is The Mental Health Coalition : https://lnkd.in/g7bC6YsY And, for more information on my cause, Giving Purpose Organization, and the flagship campaign, YOU ARE ENOUGH, please visit GivingPupose.Org

Another Aussie open water swimmer sporting a YOU ARE ENOUGH hoodie! Thanks Jay Prchal, of Pertz, for supporting the cause. Australia is hopping on the YOU ARE ENOUGH bandwagon, big time! For more information on the mental health cause and our plans for 2025, please visit GivingPurpose.org. We are looking for funding in order to do some big things. Ping me if you would like to chat! #youareenough💙 #mentalhealth #nonprofit

Ok, onward we go! YOU ARE ENOUGH was just approved to host our third annual 5K in Hermosa Beach on May 31st. The goal for this event is not only to have fun and exercise, but also to raise funds to get billboards up throughout Los Angeles and the country during May for Mental Health Awareness month. I say over and over again that I am not running the campaign to only get billboards up and sell cool merchandise. Over the past four years this campaign has become a movement because everyone can be a part of it in their own way. As mental health continues to be an epidemic in our country, more than ever we need to come together to heal. My goal this year is to evolve the campaign in a big way and do what I can to reach folks throughout the US. I know this can be done and look forward to working with major sponsors to get these boards up nationwide as well as YOU ARE ENOUGH programs into school curriculums. And, of course, I am looking for sponsors to help grow this nationwide. Contact me if you would like to see a funding deck. #youareenough #youareseen #youaresupported #mentalhealthawareness #peacewithin #youarenotalone #depressionisreal #youvegotthis #5K #exerciseheals For more information on what I am up to, please visit GivingPurpose.Org

Two awesome open water swimmers in the wee hours of this morning swam around Manhattan Island. Congrats to Andy Donaldson of Australia, for breaking the record by four minutes. And, hoping it helped him by being outfitted in a YOU ARE ENOUGH hoodie!!! #youareenough💙

My homemade banner is now proudly hanging at the Santa Monica Harris Waltz headquarters! #youareenough

I was going to say that this is a Friday post when in fact it needs to be an every day post. Live your day. Live your minute. Live your dream.

Today is WORLD SUICIDE PREVENTION DAY. Let someone know you see them. We are all in the same ocean navigating our way through life in different boats. In the dark days we may feel alone. I wish you the strength to reach out for a hug when the dark takes over. You are not alone is a phrase that does not always work when you hurt so badly. But, know that with a phone call you can get help from a friend or even a stranger. For more info on how to get assistance from a professional, call 988.

I think we all need to remember this on a personal and professional basis. Our true self is something we always need to feed, water and love. #youareenough