About Ongi

What it does

It offers a line to read on a tiring, hard day. It does not push you, and it does not tell you what to do. Lines like "this will pass", "look only at what you can do right now", and "do not be so hard on yourself" were chosen because they belong to no single religion and can reach anyone.

The cards speak in Ongi's own voice. We do not attach a person's name to any line as a quote. Making up a quote and attributing it to someone is something we refuse to do, and a check locks that in.

Besides the cards, there is also a once a week place. It is where you set an intention and let go of what you want to release. It does not only ask what you want, it also asks what stands in the way and what your next step is, because research suggests that focusing only on the outcome can lower your chances of reaching it.

Whatever you write in the let go box is never saved, it disappears the moment you let it go. That said, if what you are letting go of is something that hurt someone else, we tell you that writing it down and letting it go is not the end of it. That needs to be worked out with that person, though forgiveness is theirs to give so you may not receive it, and that is okay too. If reaching out would end up hurting them more, it is fine not to reach out.

We do not count how many times you have come, and we say nothing about weeks you skip. If you want a reminder, you can add a once a week event to your own calendar, but we do not send the reminder ourselves, your calendar does, so we store nothing.

We do not attach a source to every card. A comforting line is not a factual claim, so it does not need a citation, and naming a source can make the words feel like someone else's rather than something said to you directly. That is why Ongi speaks in its own voice.

What we do not do is make things up. We do not invent a quote and attach it to someone, and we do not claim a line comes from a tradition without grounds. Facts, like counseling line numbers, come straight from current Ministry of Health and Welfare material.

We also write down what we do not do. We do not say you must come every day, we do not say you lose something by not coming, and we do not say this is the only place with an answer. Not counting visits is the same idea. This only works as comfort if you are always free to not come back.

What it does not do

It does not tell you what to believe. It does not say you must come every day, or that this is the only place you can find an answer.

This is a place to stop by when you need it. You lose nothing by not coming.