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Jun 18, 2010

"The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to overcome, to endure, to transform to love and to be greater than our suffering." --Ben Okri

The Suicide Saver

Don Ritchie lives across the street from the most famous suicide spot in Australia: A cliff know as "The Gap." Every week there, one person will leap to their death. While most people would move from such a foreboding place, Ritchie and his wife Moya view their life there as a blessing: "I think, 'Isn't it wonderful that we live here and can help people?'" Throughout their residence of almost 50 years, the Ritchies have saved an estimated 160 people from suicide. How do they do it? It's simple, really. Every morning, Ritchie wakes up and looks out the window for anyone standing alone too close to the precipice. If he sees someone who looks ready to jump, he walks over and strikes up a conversation. "I'm offering them an alternative, really," he says. "I always act in a friendly manner. I smile." And for a humble 84 year-old man battling cancer, Ritchie sure knows the value of being alive.