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Walking with You

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21.01.2022 I know many of you are feeling really anxious about everything that is going on at the moment. Here's a reminder of some things that you can do to reduce your s...tress level and feel calmer. Why don't you print it out and put it on your fridge? And remember I can do sessions on Zoom, Skype or by video chat on Messenger so if you need some extra help to get through these challenging times, call me on 0423 693 534 to set up a time.

21.01.2022 I haven't been on Facebook much in the last week. I have been doing a Uni course on mental illness including suicide. The course was all done by Zoom and video.... 5 days online! It was hugely triggering for me and I spent most evenings crying. I got through it with the support of my youngest son Rob, who kept telling me what an important subject it was, and with the support of my lecturer. Originally I would have been doing the course while staying at Nan Tien temple and I think that would have given me more emotional distance and objectivity but it ended up that I did it in the home where I last lived with Sean, surrounded by memories. On the last day we were asked to meditate on how we understood mental illness and then to create an artwork. We were given an hour to do this. So this is what I came up with. The word 'fractured' kept coming up - fractured minds, fractured lives, fractured families, fractured relationships, fractured communities. That led to the Leonard Cohen quote about cracks and light. We are all fractured and cracked in some way but that's where the light gets in. That's what leads to our growth. And it also leads to acceptance. Sean was Sean - without his mental illness he wouldn't have been Sean. Would he have been the person he was if he hadn't had his experience of mental illness? The quote about fear is a Frank Herbert quote which may have been in his novel 'Dune' which Sean loved. He engraved that quote on a medallion. Most people with mental illness have anxiety or fear but there is also the fact that many people in the community react to those with mental illness with fear. Which leads on to the quote about happiness arriving when judgement leaves. Not only do those with mental illness have to deal with their illness, they also have to deal with the judgement of others - judged as weak or stupid or looney. Sean constantly had to deal with that judgement from his own family who would tell him to 'join the army and learn how to be a man ' or simply to 'grow up'. The crack is filled with gold, as in the Japanese custom of Kintsugi, where broken pottery is repaired and the damage highlighted with gold to acknowledge and accept the crack and the history. I'm still working through and integrating everything. Still very teary. If you've read this far, thank you. Feel free to share this if it has touched you in some way. One last thought - not to deny the severity of the Covid 19 virus and the deaths that have resulted - any death is one too many. We have had 48 deaths to date from Covid 19 in Australia but approximately 600 deaths from suicide since January 1st. Imagine if the same resources were put into suicide prevention and research? In memory of Sean White, 4/7/1988 to 18/12/2016.

19.01.2022 Asha helped me through my son's death and funeral.