There’s nothing like a road trip to bring some perspective to the ever present and sometimes relentless pace of daily life. Leaving the city, this time to visit an elderly parent in hospital - back from the brink – with my two companions (husband and 12-year-old Miss Holly his companion staffy-cross dog), we set off last Saturday to rural Victoria. Like all the times before, something always happens once there is only the expanse of open road in front of me, and the playlist to help us on our way, especially when it’s some Credence, Dolly Parton (of course), and ‘Mr’ Johnny Cash. By the 100km mark, my front seat companion is singing Foreigner’s “I want to know what love is” with heart at the top of his lungs whilst Miss Holly and I smile. Yes, this is one of those moments when it all makes sense, when we’ve stopped to breathe, to connect; being present making these memories together.
And whilst the difficult conversations and analysis of the tragic events in Sydney over recent days, and the many and varied responses to them, will and must continue so that something of value is learned from all this, I found myself drawn to thinking about the many events of the past, what I learned from each of them, about what matters. It’s something that people with lived experience of mental health challenges and their families, carers and kin know a lot about. Living each day with the impacts of trauma does that to you. It teaches you to look at life square on, to strive for authenticity. It’s your strength; an old acquaintance and a source of knowledge and growth, if you let it. It’s an opportunity for all of us to do and be better.
What I’ve thought about over the past few days is that, from the moment we’re born and start breathing, we sign up to all the emotions that life throws at us. That’s just the way it is. It’s the human condition we all share that transcends time, culture, faith and politics. You see it when complete strangers help each other. It’s what makes us more alike than different. So, there is hope, therefore, that we can become more compassionate. We just need to choose it over anger, indifference, prejudice and ignorance.
So, whether your space for thinking through and coping this week has been an open road like me, or standing on a beach looking out to sea, sitting in nature, walking around the farm, sitting at a bus stop or on a park bench watching the hustle of people and traffic go by, or listening to music (other than Dolly), with loved people or pets, or just other spaces for reflecting on these moments in our lives, I hope you have found compassion and connection with all that matters to you.
Breathe. Love. Live.
For further information on building capacity in lived experience leadership visit:
Lived Experience Australia: Changing mental health through lived experience |